NY Times: Bosh Is Not the Problem in Miami
Posted by Justin Kubatko on November 19, 2010
In this week's column I explain why Chris Bosh has been the recipient of some unfair criticism in Miami:
Keeping Score: Bosh Is Not the Problem in Miami
This should appear in the print version as well.
November 19th, 2010 at 10:23 am
I am a proponent of feeding him exclusively in the opening minutes, ala Bill Cartwright. Play two-man with him and Wade or Bron. Double will have to come from the weak side, and he's usually too quick for that. Get him going early and then pour it on with Bron and Wade.
Also, why is Bron not setting picks for Wade? Is it just me or is that the deadliest play in the game right now?
November 19th, 2010 at 10:33 am
I agree. It seems like Wade and LeBron's games aren't interacting with each other nearly as much as they ought to be.
November 19th, 2010 at 11:40 am
I actually think Wade is the problem. He's a total ball hog and doesn't share or create nearly as well as Lebron. If he gave it up to Lebron and got out of the way, he'd have way more easy opportunities to score and open things up for Bosh as well.
November 19th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
P Middy, other than 25 yearl old Shaq catching a lob, there is no deadlier thing on the court than James setting a pick for Wade. I'm always thinking, am I the only person who sees this? Why isn't spo making this a staple.
Dsong, I may have to disagree with you there. Wade is not a ball hog because as soon as he gets the rock he will take two dribbles and attack or pass. He has not been pounding the air out of the ball this year and he is taking the fewest shots since his rookie year.
As for Bosh, people are just hating. He is only taking 11 shots, shoots about 50%, does not turn the ball over at all, forces turnovers, and rebounds okay (even if at a much lower rate than he has in the past). Anyone who knows anything about B-ball should not worry about Bosh's production.
November 19th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Actually over the past month or so I think the Heat are progressing well, except for that Boston game Wade had. LeBron is more aggressive and playing better than he did the first week, Chris is coming along as well. I expect Wade to not be nearly as atrocious against the Celtics next time.
November 19th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Also great article Justin, I like your work.
November 19th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
I'm basically in agreement with everything being said here (esp. the Wade / James p&r combo that we're not seeing enough of... or at all for that matter), but I do think the article is a little soft on Bosh's lack of rebounding. Not because we should have expected him to come in a be a great rebounder necessarily, but because it is an easily identifiable team need that his length, athleticism, and position on the floor on defense set him up to fill.
LeBron and Wade are scrambling and pressing all over the perimeter. It's too much to expect them to bring down a very high percentage of defensive boards. And Joel Anthony is a third stringer being pressed in service against starting bigs. Bosh is the one in position to make up the rebounding gap, and he hasn't shown the oncourt desire to do so. The lack of visible effort has been more disappointing than the lack of rebounding production.
November 19th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Jason J is right. What people are complaining about is his lack of rebounding not his scoring numbers because we all knew that his scoring numbers would go down in Mia but we never envisioned his rebounding numbers going down as well. Him going to a new team is not an excuse for why his rebounnds are so low, great rebounders are great rebounders regardless of them changing teams, Rodman was a great rebounder no matter where he went.
November 19th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
People are also complaining for his utter lack of defense. Granted, he was always terrible at it but he has to take responsibility for much of the interior defense and he has been absolutely abysmal.
November 19th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
"JTaylor21 Says:
November 19th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Jason J is right."
Man, that's nice to hear.
November 20th, 2010 at 12:27 am
Him going to a new team is not an excuse for why his rebounnds are so low, great rebounders are great rebounders regardless of them changing teams, Rodman was a great rebounder no matter where he went.
Hmm. I'm not sure that's true. I remember reading somewhere that Rodman spent most of his film time studying his teammates, to figure out how their shots tended to bounce. Bosh could just need to get used to how his teammates both shoot and rebound before his numbers pick up.
November 20th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Big deal about his rebounding, read the article.
Turnovers are down, and his scoring efficiency is up.
November 21st, 2010 at 12:33 am
How does the teammate theory apply to his defensive rebounding, which Im pretty sure consisted of the majority of his specialty
November 21st, 2010 at 1:51 am
It's only going to get tougher from here, with Haslem now hurt.
Let's see if Bosh can step up his post defense and rebounding. His teammates need that badly, much more than his scoring.
November 28th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
I personally saw Bosh as a guy who got numbers as a #1 on teams that were inconsequential. Probably more than a few of us have played on bad teams at least once where we got out numbers---partly because nobody cared because they were beating us anyway. Now Bosh is a distant #3 on a team where #s 1a & 1b are struggling to find THEIR niches.
I'm not the least bit suprised by Bosh's results thus far.
The guy I have a problem with is the guy who leads the NBA in turnovers while averaging fewer than 6 rebounds per game. It appears that LeBron is very content to play a style that entertains HIM---yet may NOT be what the TEAM needs to win games.