From the day he was drafted as a power forward, Chris Bosh has been dragged kicking and screaming into the center position for at least some of his minutes. The Toronto Raptors tried various combinations of Centers over the years to play alongside Chris Bosh, but most of them were aging veterans who were a liability for the team. So year in and year out, Bosh kept getting asked to fill the void some of the time at the 5 spot. At an informal workout in Miami yesterday here is what Bosh had to say about playing Center…
“You know, as much as every time I try to run from it, it just comes and pulls me back in,” he said during the start of informal team workouts Thursday at AmericanAirlines Arena. “So I accept it. If I’m a five, put me down there, have me guarding the biggest guy, I accept the challenge. It is what it is. Every year that I’ve said ‘Oh, no, I’m not doing it,’ I’m in there anyway. So, I accept it.”
But the biggest problem for Bosh wasn’t going head to head with other Centers on offense. In fact his footwork, quick first step, and ability to consistently draw his defender away from the basket with pull-up jumpers were lethal against the slower traditional centers. So what was the problem? Bosh was just too damn skinny in his early years. He would get pushed around on defense, and struggled to rebound the way his team needed against his stronger opponents. So why is he so willing to accept playing more at the 5 spot for the Heat this season? He identified his weakness, and put in work at the weight gym:
“Leaps and bounds better in my opinion,” he said of his revised physique. “But that was one of the things, not only did I want to get better on the court, but I really wanted to get in there in the weight room and really put a lot of work in and improve my body and improve my endurance and be in the best shape possible coming into this season, because it is physical down there and there shouldn’t be a season where I don’t average 10 rebounds.
“I feel like I let my team down, so that’s not going to happen again. And the only way I can do that is to get stronger, get more physical and be more of a presence on the boards.”
And now that he’s shown up ready for training camp after an extended lockout with some extra bulk to his physique, he doesn’t want anyone to call him ‘soft’ ever again. He’s a force:
“Just weight room every day and just work,” he said. “That’s one thing I kind of didn’t do. I don’t think I worked hard enough last year. I was in a position where I didn’t know what to expect, and everything, I was kind of caught in the headlights a little bit and I couldn’t catch up.
“But now I know what to expect. I played in a championship series. I came up short. And I feel I know what it takes to get over that hump.”
The soft tag, he said, will be shed.
“I kind of let that happen by not being as aggressive as I could be,” he said. “I feel like it’s in my hands now.”
Only time will tell. But if Chris Bosh has a chip on his shoulder and something to prove this season, it could get scary for Heat opponents.
(H/t to Sun Sentinal for Quotes)
