Is it too early to call Bosh a Bust?

[birdwatcher]

In 6 games he's been mostly a non factor, even in the blow outs when he's played against physical match ups. His stat line would lead you to believe he's one of the other role players on a two star team. 13pts, 5.5 rbs, .8 blks &  fg%44 just doesn't cut it as one of a trio of superstars in his prime. It's clear that he needs the ball in his hands a lot to be as effective as he was for the Raptors, but even the things you'd expect him to do as the obvious third wheel in "the new big three" are lacking: he's had 8 rebounds in the last three games (only 1 offensive) as the only legit big man on that team. I've always felt he was a solid player, a really good shooter with great range, a decent passer, and as a Raptor, a fantasy team golden child. But he has always seemed soft to me and I'm wondering if he's getting exposed early, and will he remain this way? I for one thinks he will.

[moiso]

He had 1 rebound in 33 minutes last night.  That's pretty hard to do.  I'm extremely surprised at how average Bosh has been so far.  It's really strange.  I expect him to improve, but it's taking an awefully long time for him to have some productive games.

[Fan from VT]

-If anyone actually thought it was a "big 3" with all parts equal, then no, it's not to early to call Bosh a "Bust." Bosh being considered a similar talent to Wade/James was always laughable, in my opinion; I thought Bosh's biggest and greatest PR self-promotion move was to make sure he got his name thrown into the 2010 free agent discussion riding on Wade/James/Amare coattails. I always thought he was soft, a high-volume, high-minute, decent but not too efficient player, like an abdur-rahim in his prime type.

-Yes, it's too early to assume he's going to be a low-percentage, poor-rebounder for the whole tenure of the Miami Threet.

-However, considering that the heat have looked quite scary so far in certain moments despite at the same time looking discombobulated, and considering that James only went to miami because it was definitely going to be Wade AND Bosh he joined, no, he's not a bust at all.

(in other words, since having bosh was key to getting James, Bosh can't be a bust...think of it this way: would miami or any other team pay 32 million instead of 16 million to be the one to get James if they were allowed to? Yes. Definitely. So Miami payed 32 million to pair James with Wade and got Bosh to tag along too. No bust in the big picture).

[Eddie20]

I don't think Bosh was that significant in James going to Miami. The key was Wade. You could've replaced Bosh with Boozer and James would still be in a Heat uniform.

[the_Bird]

As others have said, depends on what your expectations are.  Bosh is playing at about the level I would have expected, save his rebounding numbers being down.  Those will improve, they may not be quite as high as they were in Toronto (Bron'll take some boards away from him), but he's still a good rebounder and he'll be decent in that department.

What I don't think is going to change is I don't see him getting more than ten or twelve shots a night.  His field goal attempts have been pretty consistent so far, and if he's only shooting the ball ten times it's hard to average more than 15PPG.  

To be fair, that's about what KG's scores on average these days, but Bosh obviously doesn't do nearly as much on the other side of the ball.

What I don't see happening either...  the Celtics Big 3, when one of the guys gets hots, the other two aren't shy about feeding him the ball.  If KG's got a mismatch that he's exploiting, Ray and Paul make sure that he's getting the shots.  I don't see Wade and LeBron really doing that, I don't see them riding Bosh and letting him dominate.  

What's still an open question in my mind - would Miami have been better off pursuing either Boozer (more of a low-post threat, better diversification of the offense) or Amare (little bigger, better able to play the 5) instead of Bosh?

[RJ87]

He had 1 rebound in 33 minutes last night.  That's pretty hard to do.  I'm extremely surprised at how average Bosh has been so far.  It's really strange.  I expect him to improve, but it's taking an awefully long time for him to have some productive games.

And there was another game where he also had 1 rebound. I've always thought Bosh was a bit hyped because he was THE GUY on a bad team - it's easy to look good. But one would think - being the "best" big man on a team with no interior presence - that he'd get more that he'd to better than 5.5 rebounds per game.

Obviously, it's only 6 games in he could get it going. But he's the odd man out right now.

[birdwatcher]

As others have said, depends on what your expectations are.  Bosh is playing at about the level I would have expected, save his rebounding numbers being down.  Those will improve, they may not be quite as high as they were in Toronto (Bron'll take some boards away from him), but he's still a good rebounder and he'll be decent in that department.

What I don't think is going to change is I don't see him getting more than ten or twelve shots a night.  His field goal attempts have been pretty consistent so far, and if he's only shooting the ball ten times it's hard to average more than 15PPG.  

To be fair, that's about what KG's scores on average these days, but Bosh obviously doesn't do nearly as much on the other side of the ball.

What I don't see happening either...  the Celtics Big 3, when one of the guys gets hots, the other two aren't shy about feeding him the ball.  If KG's got a mismatch that he's exploiting, Ray and Paul make sure that he's getting the shots.  I don't see Wade and LeBron really doing that, I don't see them riding Bosh and letting him dominate.  

What's still an open question in my mind - would Miami have been better off pursuing either Boozer (more of a low-post threat, better diversification of the offense) or Amare (little bigger, better able to play the 5) instead of Bosh?

I agree with most of what you've said as well as other posts. It's still very early, but all of Miami's big 3 are in the prime of their careers, while our big 3 is a couple years away from the senior citizen discount. If we had Garnett in his prime, I really feel his numbers would be more "impressive" than what he's put up here in the last few years.  Bosh needs to create his own opportunities, not wait for some to pass to him, and certainly if he was rebounding his scoring would improve either by putbacks or getting to the line. He's a stretch 4, but his team needs him to rebound which is tough to do past 12 feet.

[Celtics4ever]

Their coach is dumb too lets be honest.   Some of the rotations he has used have been moronic.  I think the players really run that team not the coach.  I think that its only time before Riles takes over.

Bosh is a SF and LeBron is a small forward.  That whole team is bust not just Bosh.  Peeps though they would win every game.  They are really a flawed team with little inside presence and some shaky outside shooters.

[Jon]

Yes.  People forget that even Ray Allen had a tough time getting used to being the third option here, and he's arguably the greatest shooter in NBA history.  While it may not seem like it, shooting a fifteen foot jumper when a play is called for you is very different than sitting on the wing for 20 seconds and shooting that same 15 foot jumper after not being involved in the play the entire time. 

It's quite possible Bosh may never adjust to his role, but it's just plain silly to make ANY conclusions about this NBA season (Bosh included) after 6 games. 

[PosImpos]

Bosh is just figuring out how to play in his new role.  He's never been in this position before; he's never been in games that mattered on a nightly basis. 

I expect he'll adjust to it eventually and probably get back to 15ish point a game and closer to 10 rebounds.  Once the Heat get more comfortable with one another, Bosh will probably have nights when he scored 20-25 pts and grabs more rebounds. 

For now, though, Bosh is still figuring it out, and thus his production is paltry compared to what it has been in the past.

[Fafnir]

I don't think Bosh was that significant in James going to Miami. The key was Wade. You could've replaced Bosh with Boozer and James would still be in a Heat uniform.

Bosh was the key to keeping Wade, otherwise Wade and LeBron would likely be in Chicago.

[Fafnir]

Far too early to say that.

Remember how the Big 3 said that'd it have been very tough to come together had they all been younger and in their primes. Well that's the situation Bosh/LeBron/Wade find themselves it. Its not an easy adjustment for any of them, especially Bosh. He's the one who's had his role diminished the most.

[kozlodoev]

Far too early to say that.

Remember how the Big 3 said that'd it have been very tough to come together had they all been younger and in their primes. Well that's the situation Bosh/LeBron/Wade find themselves it. Its not an easy adjustment for any of them, especially Bosh. He's the one who's had his role diminished the most.

The problem is that I'm not sure Bosh has any idea what his role is, now that he's not the go-to guy on a god-awful team.

[birdwatcher]

Here's a link to an ESPN article that is semi related to this post that if you haven't read, you may be interested in:

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/miamiheat/post/_/id/820/hornets-draw-up-blueprint-to-beat-heat

[FallGuy]

Ten days into the season? Waaaaaaaay too early.