Miami - Point guard has been a weak spot for the Heat all season, with second-year man Mario Chalmers not developing the way management hoped he would. He never established himself as an offensive initiator, which forced head coach Erik Spoelstra to slide Dwyane Wade to the point more than the coach would like. And Chalmers on-ball defense never improved, despite racking up a healthy number of steals. When Chalmers arrived late for a team meeting, Spoelstra used that as an excuse to move Carlos Arroyo to the starting lineup. Arroyo needs to be hidden on the defensive end of the court, but he made better decisions than Chalmers and the Heat actually went on a 5-1 run when he first started. But the Heat still needed to rely on Wade to handle the ball too much, and that limited his effectiveness and increased his frustration level.

So in comes Rafer Alston, who moved immediately into the starting lineup, which is indicative of how desperate Miami was to find a solution at the point. In theory, Alston relieves the need to have Wade handle the ball. That means Wade can take a few possessions off, and he can re-distribute his energy to driving and finishing. In reality, at least for now, Alston is new to the offense and Wade still handles the ball way too much. Alston has eight assists and three turnovers while averaging 28 minutes in three games. I'll give Alston a few weeks before making any grand pronouncements, but the coach wants him to succeed and he'll get every opportunity. Alston's arrival has moved Arroyo to the bench where he's picked up two DNPs and some garbage minutes in a blow-out loss to Utah on Monday. Chalmers remains on the second unit, but has seen his minutes drop to 15 per game in the last three. He still gets into passing lanes and even in limited minutes, that may be enough for him to average a steal or more per game.

Indiana - Pacers head coach Jim O'Brien has finally had it with T.J. Ford, who has become this year's Jamaal Tinsley. He started 25 of the first 30 games before O'Brien elected to drop him to third on the depth chart behind Earl Watson and A.J. Price. Ford, who wasn't even active in Saturday's loss to Oklahoma City, is averaging less than four assists per game and is shooting .036 from 3-point range -- yup, that's 1-for-28 from behind the arc. According to sources within the league, Indiana has unsuccessfully tried to trade Ford the last two seasons with no team willing to take on his $8.5 million (and player option for 2010-11). Obviously, he's of no use to a fantasy team. Not quite ready to hand over leadership to the rookie Price, O'Brien has tabbed Watson the starter.

Watson is a veteran point guard, who doesn't turn the ball over much. And with the Pacers playing in the Eastern Conference, the playoffs are not out of the question, hence the coach's decision to go with the veteran. The Pacers don't need a traditional point guard -- they do little drive-and-kick -- and have guys like Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Danny Granger who handle the ball. We're not expecting Watson to be a high-assist performer, but he has averaged 6.3 in the previous six games. O'Brien also wants to see what he has in Price, who played very little prior to the Ford benching. In Monday's come-from-behind win over Toronto, both Price and Watson were on the floor in the fourth quarter and each had their moments, though Price wasn't used much as a facilitator. Going forward, you should expect Price to get 20-25 minutes a night and I suspect they'll give more opportunities to distribute.

Toronto - Do the Raptors have a point guard controversy? Jose Calderon, who missed 12 of 13 games with a hip injury, has been back for four games but has come off the bench in all four. Jarrett Jack has started while Calderon was out and team was 8-5 during that stretch and reached .500 -- albeit briefly. Many of the wins can be chalked up to an easy schedule, but the Raptors did play better defense with Jack in the starting five. He's a better defender than Calderon and can take the ball inside to score and draw fouls. Calderon is the better playmaker, but with Hedo Turkoglu around, the Raptors don't need to have Calderon touching the ball all the time. He's a good shooter (50 percent FG, 38 percent 3pt) and we may see him evolve into a backup point guard/scorer off the bench. It's still early in Calderon's return, and perhaps he'll get his starting job back once he's in game shape, but for now Jack is starting and Calderon will have to contribute where he can off the bench.

Washington - The Gilbert Arenas saga has thrown the Wizards' point-guard job into flux. He was suspended three games ago and the Wizards have settled on Randy Foye as a replacement after Earl Boykins started the first game of Agent Zero's suspension. Foye has assumed several roles for the Wizards this season, including backup point guard, starting shooting guard, scorer off the bench, and deep-end of the rotation guy. He now has the starting point-guard job, and it appears to be his to keep. He scored 43 points with 14 assists and three turnovers in two starts. Better yet, Foye is 14-for-14 from the free-throw line and is doing all the things a good point guard should. The increased role will mean more shots for Foye -- not always a good thing. He's averaged a little more than seven shots per game this season, but has gotten off 34 in the last two, making just 13 (38.2 percent). In the past, Foye's shot selection has been the worst thing about his game. Boykins, whose contract became guaranteed for the season, remains the backup. Of the two, Foye is more likely to be in the team's long-term plans and will be given a long leash and a ton of minutes.