Is it too early to call Bosh a Bust?

[guava_wrench]

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.

It could very well be that his skill set just doesn't make sense with Wade and Lebron. KG could not even play offense and still impress with a one-sided defensive contribution. It is possible that no role will really make sense for him.

It is possible that what we are seeing is a serious case of diminishing marginal returns as we add Bosh's offensive skills to Wade and Lebron's.

Regardless, Bosh is extremely skilled. Even if he is a bad fit, he is still an exceptional player, though nowhere near the level of his 2 teammates.

[FallGuy]

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.

It could very well be that his skill set just doesn't make sense with Wade and Lebron. KG could not even play offense and still impress with a one-sided defensive contribution. It is possible that no role will really make sense for him.

It is possible that what we are seeing is a serious case of diminishing marginal returns as we add Bosh's offensive skills to Wade and Lebron's.

Regardless, Bosh is extremely skilled. Even if he is a bad fit, he is still an exceptional player, though nowhere near the level of his 2 teammates.

Not sure anyone thinks this is a good idea but me... however, given the mismatched skillsets on Miami,  I wonder if they'd be better putting Bosh on the perimeter taking jumpers, Wade handling the ball and Lebron focused on rebounding underneath, taking on more of a true power forward role.

[snowball]

Point blank, Bosh is not getting the ball.
Wade and Bron hog it up.

[Fan from VT]

As a side note, I would love the drama (and it may be better for Miami) if Miami did turn around and deal Bosh. I do think they'd be better with a high-energy, crash-the-boards type and could get a lot for him. I think these would make Miami peskier/scarier:

-Nene+Afflalo
-Kaman+Foye+Pick (Kaman is a terror on the boards)
-Verejao+Gibson+Sessions
-Chuck Hayes (elite defender), Battier, Lowry, Lee
-K Love, Darko, Flynn (i hope Kahn wouldn't do this but he's terrible)

But of course none would happen because Bosh would pout and not want to play for the destined team and I doubt Riley could get Wade and Lebron to stab Bosh in the back and ok the deal. But it'd be fun.

[housecall]

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.  

TP...Agree with you 100%.Theres also only one ball to go around and it was always understood one of the three's ppg would suffer a bit.LBJ is not exactly lighting up the score boards himself.I never expected all three players would average in the 20's throughout the season.Our own big 3 had to sacrifice some offense to be successful.

  In their lost to the Hornets i find more fault with some of Eric Spoektras's game plan than the players themselves.He inserted Eddie House into the game to take the last shot(3pt)where he was 0-7 from 3pt land for the night.It didn't appear that he had any trust in the there so called Big 3 to take the final shot to win the game...whereas Bosh had hit a 3pt shot just prior to the timeout to put Eddie in the game.Wade had the better look for the 3pt.attempt but dished off to House which made it seemed more by design.

[More Banners]

A number of things, I think, are true...

To begin with, we see what Lebron's tendencies are:  on-ball, all the time.  If he ever learned, or had a coach that might make him learn, how to play off the ball, he could be an unstoppable weapon.  That means that I sincerely doubt he would ever willingly be a low-post option.  He won't wait for the ball.  I used to think it was that Mike Brown was a turrible coach (he is), but Lebron needs someone to coach him and hold him accountable for implementing a team-level strategy.

Bosh is who he's been all along.  While a 3rd banana on offense, has he stepped it up by focusing more on defense or rebounding?  I don't think so.  That's on him, but also on a coach not being clear with expectations.  It seems they're going with the "we've got so much talent, we can just work out a groove" thing, but that won't cut it in the playoffs for sure.  Chicago (with Booz) might beat them.

Surely the perimeter/slashing oriented game of Wade and Lebron is redundant, but lacking an inside force is killing them on both sides of the ball.  Many players/combinations of players could improve/balance out this team.  Heck, Troy Murphy would be an upgrade to Bosh.  Robin Lopez and Dragic would seriously put them over the top.  Bosh just doesn't add enough of what they need.

Actually, if Miami had signed David Lee, Amare, or Boozer, I would be much more worried about facing them.  Darko/Love for Bosh-type deal would make them not only contenders, but favorites, IMO.

This Heat team may know a lot about basketball, but they don't know anything about winning on the big stage.  Riley stepping in would be something I would be very concerned about, too.

[j804]

A number of things, I think, are true...

To begin with, we see what Lebron's tendencies are:  on-ball, all the time.  If he ever learned, or had a coach that might make him learn, how to play off the ball, he could be an unstoppable weapon.  That means that I sincerely doubt he would ever willingly be a low-post option.  He won't wait for the ball.  I used to think it was that Mike Brown was a turrible coach (he is), but Lebron needs someone to coach him and hold him accountable for implementing a team-level strategy.

Bosh is who he's been all along.  While a 3rd banana on offense, has he stepped it up by focusing more on defense or rebounding?  I don't think so.  That's on him, but also on a coach not being clear with expectations.  It seems they're going with the "we've got so much talent, we can just work out a groove" thing, but that won't cut it in the playoffs for sure.  Chicago (with Booz) might beat them.

Surely the perimeter/slashing oriented game of Wade and Lebron is redundant, but lacking an inside force is killing them on both sides of the ball.  Many players/combinations of players could improve/balance out this team.  Heck, Troy Murphy would be an upgrade to Bosh.  Robin Lopez and Dragic would seriously put them over the top.  Bosh just doesn't add enough of what they need.

Actually, if Miami had signed David Lee, Amare, or Boozer, I would be much more worried about facing them.  Darko/Love for Bosh-type deal would make them not only contenders, but favorites, IMO.

This Heat team may know a lot about basketball, but they don't know anything about winning on the big stage.  Riley stepping in would be something I would be very concerned about, too.

word well said, cant disagree with that

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

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.

He doesn't like to play physical. It's that simple.

When they go with Bosh at the C and Haslem at PF.....Bosh shy's away from the rim.

He's fallen in love with his 15-18 footer. I think he's even been shooting some 3's this season as well.

He's hasn't been afraid to say he doesn't like to play the Center position, so he's admitted to not liking the banging around down low.

Shaq knew exactly what he was saying when he called Chris Bosh "the RuPaul of big men in the NBA". Clearly a very calculated statement which Bosh never really refuted.

[manl_lui]

to be honest i dont expect Bosh to make that much of an impact in Miami

it really is just the big 2, not big 3

You can put any of our bigs on Bosh and Bosh would struggle, i remember he only had 8 pts and 8 reb vs KG 10 pt 10 reb

If Bosh was on another average team like Wizards or Clippers, do you think he would average 20 and 10 like in Toronto?

Bosh is overrated, hes an average offensive player who plays "ok" defense

we are loaded in the front court, and I see Bosh will continue to struggle vs us

[Neurotic Guy]

If a team with Wade and James has a third guy averaging 15 and 8 I think they'll be very tough and very happy.  Can Bosh do that? I have no doubt he can. 

The third leading scorer on the 70-win Bulls was Toni Kukoc with 13 a game.  Agreed that the Heat could use a pure rebounder, but Bosh as a third wheel is going to suit them just fine. 

[crownsy]

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.

I'd actually be alot more afarid of that lineup than bosh. Carlos is what they lack, a tough physical guy who can get after the offensive boards the other two create.

A fitness bigman is not what those two need.

[ManUp]

Forget Boozer they should have went harder at Amare. He's a tough and physical inside force Amare is devastating going to the basket. I still can't believe people thought/think Bosh is better than Amare.

[More Banners]

Forget Boozer they should have went harder at Amare. He's a tough and physical inside force Amare is devastating going to the basket. I still can't believe people thought/think Bosh is better than Amare.

I'd guess health, ego, and willingness to take slightly less than max to build a contender (e.g. sign Mike Miller) were factors.

[Celtics4ever]

I don't think LeBron will ever be unstoppable.  He is a horrible shooter who is in love with pointless dribbling.  Its ugly basketball and its bad team basketball.  Watch him go go one all the time is boring as all get out.  He'd have to undergo a major change and so far he hasn't shown any inclination he will do that.  I don't know that there is a Coach other than Coach K he has ever bowed too.   Riles might have the clout, Phil Jackson would heck maybe even Doc but not the present HEAT coach.  But LeBron is his own worst enemy.  He has believed his own hype and it makes him a joke.

They need guys who don't need the ball with Wade and James.   Specialist shooters who can bang a three when they dish out and a boarding hogging rebounder would help them immensely.  I hope DA signs Perk someday if he comes back healthy because a team like MIA will be looking exactly for guys like him.  He isn't the rebound hog but he plays D and doesn't need the ball and is servicable on the boards.

[GreenNote]

From what I see so far, it looks like Bosh is just producing the same kind of numbers that Beasley had. If this continues, the only big difference to Miami this year will be what LeBron brings as well as the other guys ... But I have a feeling that because D-Wade and LeBron depend on the ball so much and aren't
catch and shoot guys, they won't really be able to maximize their abilities as much as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.