Today marks the beginning of the 2011 NBA Finals, and for some of us, it can’t come any sooner. If we have to see one more segment about Jim Tressel, or about John Denks being mad at Jose Bautista, or whatever other crap is going on right now, it’s safe to conclude our collective heads will explode.A five-day wait seemed like an eternity, and for one player in particular, this five-day wait continues the journey of the respect he has yet to fully receive, but at this point, has shown he deserves.
LeBron James is the biggest name on the team. Dwayne Wade more than certainly lives up to the billing as The Hardest Working Man in Show Business. It’s Chris Bosh that is the overlooked one, the most taken for granted, and the one who continually has to prove to the prove that he belongs.
Chris Bosh was the man in high school, a McDonald’s All-American, 100% Texas Made, and one of the key players on a Lincoln High School basketball team in Dallas, Texas that went undefeated during his senior year and won a mythical national title.The man played ball in the hood, and played in front of crowds that separate the men from the boys. If you can play well in front of crowds at Forester, Ellis Davis, and other basketball locales in D-town, you can play anywhere. Even with all he accomplished in those days, there are citizens of Dallas who will say, to this day, that he wasn’t the best player on that team. Make no mistake about Bosh as a basketball player; while thinking he’s the best player on the Miami Heat would be irresponsible, it’s just as foolish to downplay his impact on the Heat and why they are where they are right now.
Co-counsel Lewis is one of the few fans who sang the praises of Bosh from the start, when he said that not only is Bosh a max player, but he would also be the key in the Heat making a run for the title this season. Out of the three stars on the Heat, he’s had the toughest adjustment to make. Talk about disrespect, the man can’t even sit next to his boys during press conferences after the games! He does post-game interviews on his own.
Just think about the roles of the three max players on the Heat. LeBron pretty much does the same stuff he’s always done on the offensive end, while Wade gets to pick his spots and dominate the ball as well. Bosh has had to make his adjustments on the go all season long, which have been well-documented.
Despite the ups-and-downs that played out before everyone’s eyes, he’s managed to get comfortable in his role on the offensive end. That’s not bad for a man who people thought would be outplayed by his counterparts in each of the last two playoff series. The man held his own against Kevin Garnett, and more than outplayed Carlos Boozer in the Eastern Conference Finals.When Boozer made a disrespectful and outrageous statement about Bosh’s importance to The Heatles, Bosh went out and had two 30-point games against Chicago, thoroughly outplaying that sissy and doing it with not much of a verbal response. He didn’t have to say anything. His play did the talking, while Boozer’s mouth did nothing but help keep his team from moving on.
If Chris Bosh is guilty of anything, it’s that he’s guilty of being too honest. Fans want to have it both ways; they want players to keep it real, but only when it comes to things they want to hear. When Bosh admitted he was nervous going into a game in Boston in the second round, the detractors went into overdrive.
When he answered a question about the Heat’s title chances with “We’re going to win it someday,” they asked why he couldn’t and wouldn’t be more specific and say right now. Well, with the Heat knocking on the doorstep of history, his statements are coming to fruition, and even with that, the young man still can’t catch a break.
NBA fans, it’s one thing to make someone an easy target, but it’s another thing to not give credit where it’s due, and instead resort to wisecracks, insults, and jokes about a player. To do it when they are called for is one thing, but these days, especially with the Finals looming and Bosh being a key contributor to the Heat’s run, doing so only makes the sensible ones around us wonder if you truly know anything about basketball.Do better, people, and realize that Miami is close to making a whole lot of people mad, and while it’s the beginning of a prophecy once uttered by King James when he said “Not two; not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven” championships, realize that one of the biggest reasons this is happening is due to none other than the play of Chris Bosh. Thank you.
Be easy.
-K. Masenda
www.edthesportsfan.com
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Comments
10 Responses to "The state of NBA fans vs. Chris Bosh"Great read Ken, Dallas Lincoln stand up.
The defense of the mavs is unlike any other team. Sure the heat has three all stars but the team isn’t as complete as the mavs just look they whooped everybody’s ass this year in the play offs. and their offence is on point. jj barea is is as quick as any one on the heat, dirk be hittin them threes like it aint nun n marion n terry gone be dunking n jones gone be getting in that ass too not to mention kidd and stojakovic with the jump shot accuracy
maverick is an awesome team,but miami heat really did a great job.and they hit up into three times on them on defensei think Dwyane Wade will get it no doubt.and miami plays lockdown defense.thanks for sharing this.
Good post. I am curious though to see how he matches up with Dirk, or do they use Haslem more at the four and move Bosh to the 5 against Joel Anthony.. It will be a fun matchup. Bosh is the reason the Heat were able to win against the Bulls. His play was critical as DWade continued to struggle.
All I know is that when Bosh plays well in these playoffs, the Heat win. So while he may be on the back-burner of the three superstars, he seems to be the X factor.
Wade and LeBron damn near always play great (though Wade's been poor offensively of late), but when Bosh is playing great, this team looks unstoppable.
Bosh had to know what he was getting into. He decided that being third man on a championship caliber team was better than being leading man on a sinking ship. So, any slights at press conferences and what not should be factored in.
I agree w/ Joe in that Bosh was critical in their win vs. the bulls. I'll also add that Bosh is a very skilled player. Sure, he looks funny and says things to the media that may not put him the best light, but you can't argue his talent. And defensively, he's starting to look like the Bosh that was in the Olympics in 2008. His defense will be KEY this series (along w/ Haslem).
I watched the game twice tonight and and Dirk was treated like a superstar that pretty much evry little bump on him was called a foul.reason why Dallas was in the penalty most of the time.can't blame tha ref on this one,it went both ways but more on Mavs side.I recall a play where James got hit on the head with no fouled called then the following possession Dirk drove in and Haslem played him well foul called.thanks for sharing this post!
I haven't enjoyed watching the playoffs this much for a long time. We had upsets, legendary games, rising superstars, veterans taking over.
I think most people outside of Miami want to see the Heat lose, rightly so. I just hope that Dirk and Kidd can finally win a ring because they really deserve it.
I can’t wait to see who’s gonna take the championship. It’s hard to predict since both teams are doing good in this series. This is gonna be an exciting game.
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