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The Emergence of Chris Bosh, Raptor Mode

(Image on left via Getty Images)

For quite some time now, the Miami Heat have been called the “Big 2,” “Two and a Half Men,” the “Big 2.5,” and other names mocking the lack of production on Chris Bosh’s part.  However, after dropping 35 points and grabbing 7 rebounds, while shooting a dazzling 10-16 from the field and a perfect 14-14 from the freethrow line, I believe we should now be calling Chris Bosh, Chris Bosh.  Last season, Bosh’s production had dropped significantly from what we were used to seeing in Toronto and Chris just didn’t seem like he was being himself.  Bosh looked out of place in the Heat offense, complained that he wasn’t getting enough touches, and overall just didn’t look comfortable beside LeBron and D. Wade.  And this was quite understandable being that Chris had to sacrifice and change his game the most out of any of the “Big 3.”

Consequently in the offseason, Bosh put a tremendous amount of effort into his game, his body, and his conditioning.  At the start of the 2011-2012 season, Bosh had put on 10-15 pounds of muscle and his game looked polished and on point.  It just seems like Chris is much more confident as a person now and as a member of the Heat organization both on and off the court.  If you’ve ever watched an interview recently with Chris, you can just tell how much he has grown as a person, therefore translating into his abilities on the court.  CB4 is undeniably the most consistent player of the “Big 3” and as of this year, Chris Bosh has aggressively asserted himself back into the Heat’s offense.

On Tuesday night, the Miami Heat hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers and no one was expecting the game to be as close as it was.  On a night after losing to Milwaukee just a couple days ago, it seemed as if Miami got the rest they needed and was ready to get back to work.  Perhaps they shouldn’t have rested because in the first half Miami Heat fans were exposed to some ugly ugly basketball.  Miami turned the ball over a total of 17 times and if it weren’t for the heroics of Chris Bosh, the outcome would have probably resulted differently.  Bosh torched the Cavs with 17 points in the final period (the most by any Heat player this season) and just for one night it seemed like the Miami Heat were the Toronto Raptors.  After the game, when asked about his fourth quarter performance, Bosh stated that he was just “shooting the ball without hesitation” and that his “teammates [were] finding [him] in the right spots.”  He also said, “I just wanted to make sure that I pulled the trigger without kind of hesitating. They kept coming to me, they showed trust in me.”

Ultimately, I believe that Both LeBron and Chris both have had their turning points as far as being comfortable in Miami.  For LeBron James it was his 38 point explosion last season at Cleveland, which made the team unity stronger and allowed LeBron to play LeBron-style basketball once again.  Perhaps the Dwyane Wade injury has been a blessing in disguise, because I sincerely believe that Wade’s injury has been the turning point for Chris Bosh.  Knowing he would have to take on a bigger load, Chris has gone into “Raptor” mode as of late and hopefully both he and LeBron can keep producing the way they are when D. Wade returns.

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