I t was seen a year ago in the Eastern Finals against the Chicago Bulls and it has been seen night in and night out this season. Chris Bosh putting his final exclamation point on the debate of whether or not he is a part of “The Big 3” that is.
Ever since arriving in Miami, critics, analysts, fellow players, and fans have questioned whether or not Bosh is truly a part of Miami’s BIG 3. With Dwyane Wade and LeBron James having battled injuries this season, Bosh has had to be the key guy out on the court for Miami. On January 5th, the Heat battled the Atlanta Hawks without both James and Wade. On paper, Atlanta should have ran away with that game. However, Bosh posted 33 points with 14 rebounds, including a game tying three that sent the game into OT. Yes, I’ll throw in Mario Chalmers magnificent night as well that game.
The true flaw the Miami Heat face is the inability to score consistently in the fourth quarter. The Finals against Dallas made this flaw very evident as the Heat blew many fourth quarter leads because they were unable to score the basketball (Cough Cough LeBron). Wade and LeBron have struggled to flow together on the court during the fourth quarter and even without Wade, it has mostly been LeBron going ice cold and taking himself out of the game in the fourth quarter.
Miami is currently 7-1 on the season without Wade, but with games on the line, it has been Bosh who Erik Spoelstra has turned to. Against Cleveland Tuesday night, it was Bosh who stole the show against LeBron’s old teammates. LeBron again posted a dismal two points on 1-5 shooting in the fourth. All the while CB1 was dropping 17 points in the fourth to finish with 35 points, 7 boards, 14-for-14 from the line, and 92-85 Heat victory.
That performance was a fluke right? Wrong.
Bosh then put on an encore performance last night against Detroit Rock City knocking down his first six shots of the game. Miami ran out to a 14-9 lead as Bosh had 13 of those 14 points. Bosh ended up finishing the game with 27 points. Bosh has averaged 27 ppg during the six game stretch without Wade.
Yes, Bosh is receiving more touches because Wade has been out. However, props should be given to the man people scrutinize so much about not being a true integral part of The BIG 3. That includes you too Shaq.
Right on Mr. Bosh!
Alex Rosencutter is a former NCAA basketball player at Clarke University and a kinesiology major at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin, this hoops addict and die hard Miami Heat fan, who is obsessed with old school hoops, has a fever for basketball and the only prescription is more basketball.
