Since Chris Bosh signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat during the summer of 2010, his role on the team and his place among the big three along with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade has constantly been questioned. Fitting in alongside an 8-time All-Star and a 3-time MVP in LeBron James and an 8-time All-Star and 2006 NBA Finals MVP in Dwayne Wade has not always been an easy task for Bosh.
Despite the fact that Bosh has been an All-Star for 7 straight seasons dating back to 2006, he has been highly criticized for his play with the Heat. Bosh is often labeled as soft and as a power forward who is reluctant to bang with the big boys inside. Often times, fans even jest that there isn't a big three in Miami but rather the Heat have a dynamic duo with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.
For a guy that was the second highest scoring power forward in the Eastern Conference during the regular season at 18 points per game, Bosh has been the subject of a tremendous amount of criticism. His detractors point to the fact that he averaged just under 8 rebounds per game during the regular season, which was not a very high number considering the Heat's opponents shot the fifth lowest percentage from the field during the season at 43.4 percent.
In the Heat's game 1 victory over the Pacers, Bosh suffered a lower abdominal strain after finishing off a dunk during the ladder stages of the second quarter. The injury forced Bosh to miss games two and three of the series, and without Bosh, the Heat have fallen in a 2-1 series hole with game 4 left in Indiana. Without even being on the court, Chris Bosh has shown his true value to the Miami Heat and how much the Heat struggle without him on the offensive end of the floor.
Without Bosh on the court, Joel Anthony and Ronny Tuiaf have received extended minutes at the power forward and center positions. Although Anthony and Tuiaf are good rebounders and give great effort, especially with their intensity on the defensive end of the floor, they are both non-scorers. Therefore, Pacers center Roy Hibbert is able to clog up the paint and prevent driving lanes for LeBron and D-Wade because he doesn't have to worry about Anthony or Tuiaf scoring the basketball. In game two, Hibbert had 3 blocks, while he followed that up with 5 blocks in game three. With Hibbert hanging around the lane, Dwayne Wade has struggled to score around the basket, as he was 2 for 13 in the Heat's game three loss.
Although Bosh is 6'11'', he is a very comfortable and confident shooter, as has a very good elbow jump shot. Bosh is able to set up for open jumpers off LeBron and D-Wade's penetration, especially on the pick and pop. He is vital to Miami because he is able to extend the floor due to his ability to shot the basketball, which causes match-up problems because teams rarely have power forwards who are agile enough to stay with Bosh outside. Without Bosh on the floor, Roy Hibbert's lack of mobility has yet to be exposed by the Heat.
Any time that a team loses one of its best players and an 18 point per game scorer, it is going to struggle, but the Heat are a team that have even bigger problems replacing a guy like Bosh because of their lack of quality bench players. During the regular season the Heat's bench averaged less than 24 points per game, as none of their bench guys scored more than 7 points per game during the season. The Heat were 28th in the NBA in bench points per game. In game 2 for example, Miami's bench scored just 11 points.
The Pacers have been able to key on LeBron and D-Wade during the last two games of the series because they no longer have to worry about the threat of Bosh. The Heat have severely struggled to get in a rhythm offensively since Bosh went down with his injury and they have scored just 75 points in two consecutive games. In game 2, the Heat scored just 14 points in the third quarter and they followed that up in game 3 by scoring just 12 points in the third frame.
Not only have the Heat missed Bosh on the offensive end, but they have also missed him on the defensive end of the floor. Since Anthony and Turiaf are not going to score offensively, Erik Spoelstra has used LeBron at the power forward position to ensure that the Heat have enough on the offensive on the floor. Although LeBron is a specimen and is extremely strong, he has very little position playing the power forward position. In game 2 of the series, with LeBron on him for large parts of the game, David West had 16 points including 7 points in the final 7:05. LeBron said about defending in the post, "It's a lot more taxing being in there with bigger guys. [Defensively] is the biggest difference. When you're on the perimeter, there is more space. The interior is more cramped and physical."
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