The Miami Heat weren’t just outplayed by the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night, they were outmanned.
LeBron James had a strong night, Dwyane Wade ,while far from efficient, put points on the board and Shane Battier just couldn’t miss in the first half. But while that was enough build a 13-point lead, it wasn’t enough to hold onto it. Oklahoma City eventually got the best of Miami, stressing the importance of Chris Bosh more than ever.
Bosh scored just 10 points and grabbed five rebounds on four of 11 shooting from the field. Nearly half of his shot attempts were three-pointers, and if you believe in plus -inus, the Heat were -12 with him on the floor.
As much as some of us ridicule Bosh, or even overlook him, he’s an imperative cog in Miami’s machine. He provides size and rebounding to a team void of nearly both, and as we saw in Game 7 against the Boston Celtics, he can help propel his team to an easy victory.
And that’s the Bosh the Heat need now. They need the efficient shooter who doesn’t avoid banging in the low post, and they need the willing rebounder, who isn’t afraid to be grease elbows in his quest to dominate the glass.
James and Wade have carried the Heat all postseason, and they will continue to do so in the finals, but that won’t always be enough. Bosh is insurance. If he can get going, and stay going, the Heat are near unbeatable, and surely not a team who would collapse the way they did in second half of Game 1.
The fact that the Heat were able to shoot 42.1 percent from beyond the arc is impressive, but what would be more impressive is their ability to get Bosh going on the inside, to instill confidence in their big man and find a way to ensure he receives his touches where he feels most comfortable.
Despite his improved perimeter game, Bosh shouldn’t be jacking up threes every so often, but rather, he should be patrolling rim, feasting off pick-and-rolls and looking to post-up whenever he can. Doing so will help spread the defense, create more open looks for his teammates, and most of all, help him find hit his stride on offense and establish a sense of continuity.
And after a lackluster Game 1 that saw the Heat and Bosh do none of this, doing so moving forward may also prove to be the difference title attainment and championship heartbreak.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
