subject: Bosh Delivers, Plays ‘Bigger' [print this page] Bosh Delivers, Plays Bigger'
HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS We pounded on him for three days, a merciless beating that surely crossed the line a time or two, questioning everything about his very existence in Miami.
This morning is the flip side for Chris Bosh here at the hideout. He did his job against the Lakers last night, delivering on his promise to play bigger, be more aggressive and demand the ball in his sweet spot so he could give the Heat the post presence that was missing during their five-game losing streak. where to buy cheap NBA Jerseys?ujersy is a good choice.
Dwyane Wade took care of business at crunch time, delivering the plays the Heat needed to finally win one of these close games. He took the proverbial heat off everyone in Miami, especially coach Erik Spoelstra. LeBron James provided his usual dazzling-at-times play and the all-around game that is his trademark.
The man who set the tone, though, was Bosh. Just as he said he would, Bosh got started early and made a sincere effort to force the issue on the Lakers' big men.
"We need big-time contributions from Chris so we tried to work him in some different areas," Spoelstra said. "He had a terrific mindset in shootaround and set the tone for everybody. He was dead-[expletive] serious. It really was contagious."
Bosh's team-leading 24 points and nine rebounds weren't just symbolic. Bosh proved his point when he is a factor, the Heat have a better chance to deal with the other members of the league's elite (granted, their two wins over the NBA's big boys have come against the Lakers).
He was 10-for-17 from the floor, but the most important thing Bosh did was show up with the energy that had been missing from his game in recent days. "This was a very big game, and we had everything riding on it," he said. "I put everything I have into it. When it's time to play, the way I know I can play, I just go out there and let it happen. I know I can help this team in a different way. I wasn't playing around." recommend directory: Chauncey Billups #4 New York Knicks dack blue NBA Jersey.
With point guard and big man issues dogging Miami all season, Bosh can clear at least one of those up. He's not the traditional 7-foot big that some people feel the Heat need to contend for a title this season. But if he plays the way he did against the Lakers on a consistent basis, the Heat will need Joel Anthony and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to give them only adequate spot duty in the paint.
Bosh outplayed Pau Gasol (outscored him 24-20 and outrebounded him 9-5). James, who had his hands full with Ron Artest, praised Bosh for coming through when the Heat needed him to. "Those are two of the best forwards we have in this game, and they went head to head," he said. "Chris did a great job of being in attack mode. We need that out of him."
The Heat need much more of that out of Bosh, their best and only hope for a dual-threat low-post force this season. A double-double machine in Toronto as the Raptors' No. 1 option, Bosh has managed just four double-doubles since piling up four in six games in the first two weeks of January.
Bosh's rebounding numbers have also dropped in each of the past three months (from 8.5 in January to 8.1 in February to just 7.0 so far this month).
The Heat have plenty of firepower to draw from when role players like Mike Miller and Mike Bibby are making shots along with the usual work from Wade and James. What they cannot manufacture, however, is a rugged and nasty rebounder and shot blocker (another part of Bosh's game that has not materialized this season) to balance the floor when Wade and James are slashing to the basket or working from the outside in, as they often do.
Heat boss Pat Riley admitted as much, telling the Newark Star-Ledger earlier this week, "We need a big and we'll get it. We won't get it this year, but we'll get it."
Bosh insists he's the man for the job right now. He showed as much last night. All he has to do now is do it again and again and again and again recommend directory: Carmelo Anthony #7 New York Knicks NBA Jersey.
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
