What Can Miami Heat Fans Expect from Chris Bosh

Now that the Miami Heat are watching from the cheap seats (at home), now would be the time to think with a little bit of perspective on the last season. The Heat should have made the playoffs, that is without question. They had every opportunity to, and weren’t able to get it done. I can list off excuse after excuse, but the truth is that the last two spots in the Eastern Conference were both teams that finished under .500. In other words, they were bad teams. And while the Heat have had some bad luck with injuries, they still have really good players that should be able to beat teams when they need to.

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But now that is over and Miami has to find some way to move forward for next season. I have already written about their draft, and unless Miami’s fate somehow doesn’t allow them to get the tenth pick, they should be fine in that department. No matter who they pick, the player is going to need some work put in, as Shabazz Napier did this season. Napier was forced to start some games and play big minutes until Goran Dragic was brought to Miami, giving coach Erik Spoelstra the ability to sit the rookie.

I think that next year begins and ends with Chris Bosh. His health is their main concern this offseason. They will be making sure that he is healthy, that he is doing whatever necessary to be ready for next season. Bosh is one of four players this past season to average over 20 points per game and 7 rebounds per game. The other players include Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. That isn’t bad company to be in. He stretches the entire court and forces opposing defenders to meet him at the three-point line. As a matter of fact, I argued that before he went down with the blood clot that he actually shot too much from there.

Thankfully, this blood clot situation, while dire, isn’t a recovery from an ACL tear, which would have been more physically demanding and possibly longer than the offseason. Bosh was missed the most during this season because there was no real floor stretching being done. There were occasional times when it happened, and possibly worked, including the time when Spoelstra was able to bring Udonis Haslem to three-point line and Haslem knocked it down. But I don’t suspect that happening very often. The players who would come in at the big man positions were Hassan Whiteside, Haslem and Chris Andersen, neither of which have the capability to stretch the floor. Bosh would be able to give the team that option. It would remove a big player from being next to the hoop, giving Dwyane Wade and (hopefully) Dragic the room that they need to operate and get in the lane.

I think one of the biggest things that was felt this season was Bosh’s defense, something that is incredibly underrated. His ability to defend goes beyond numbers. Bosh was fifteenth amongst centers last year with a Defensive Real Plus-Minus number of 3.08. Defense was his best attribute, and would commonly defend the opposing team’s best player on a nightly basis. You cannot replace that. If you pair it with Whiteside, the duo could be dangerous, and Miami might be back in the form the team is used to: competing for a championship.

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