The Miami Heat opened a new era of basketball without LeBron James last night against the Washington Wizards, and they were able to pull off a 107-95 win. Dwyane Wade and Norris Cole both came through with big nights, but the real story of the night was the play of power forward Chris Bosh. He came through with a monster night and proved that the Heat are still going to be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference.
Take a look at his numbers from last night against the Wizards:
| Rk | MP | FG% | 3P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 39:08 | .500 | .750 | 1.000 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 26 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/30/2014.
Obviously the numbers that he put up are what many were expecting when James left, but he played a very similar game to what he used to play with the Toronto Raptors. He is finally able to play his game, and the Heat have a much more team oriented offense. They will be just fine with James on the roster, even though it does take away the most dominant player in the game.
Watching those type of plays from Bosh are completely different than what he has done over the last few years in Miami. He looked much more involved on the defensive end of the floor, and also was dominant on the glass. His offensive game was completely different, as he was able to score the ball from any and every area of the floor.
Whether it be posting up and making a move to the rim, knocking down the mid-range jumper, hitting the three-ball, or putting the ball on the floor to get to the rim, he was nearly impossible for the Wizards to stop. He has such a unique skill-set that there simply isn’t any area that the defense can give him that he is unable to score from.
We have so much going for ourselves right now. I like to win. It doesn’t matter how we do it. We can get better.” – Chris Bosh
Miami still has Wade, Luol Deng, Mario Chalmers, Danny Granger, Shawne Williams, Chris Andersen, Norris Cole, and a couple other of talented players surrounding him in Josh McRoberts and Shabazz Napier. Bosh will be the driving force on the offensive end of the court for the Heat, and he has shown that the Heat and their fans have nothing to worry about as far who would step up and become the leading scorer this season.
It’s going to be very difficult for the Heat to knock off either the Chicago Bulls or Cleveland Cavaliers in a seven-game series, but they have the talent to do so if they play together. Assuming Wade is able to stay healthy to help lead the way for the Heat, they will continue to contend in the Eastern Conference with Bosh as their number one scorer.
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Back with the Raptors, Bosh was the driving force behind two straight playoff appearances from Toronto. They had some talent on those teams like Jose Calderon, T.J. Ford, Andrea Bargnani, and Anthony Parker, but it simply wasn’t enough for them to make any type of playoff run. Bosh proved in those two seasons that he is capable of rising up and leading his team to the playoffs, and that is exactly what he is looking to do once again with the Heat.
He may not win the MVP award this season or the scoring title, but he will lead the Heat forward and to the playoffs. They aren’t going to finish the regular season with a better record than either the Bulls or Cavaliers, but they will play competitive basketball if they face either team in the playoffs.
Bosh has shown that he can step in and be the leading scorer for the Heat, and they will move forward and continue being an elite team even with James back in Cleveland.