Monday, November 8th, 2010 at 10:00 am  |  95 responses

Chris Bosh: ‘I Get a Little Lost Out There’

The least heralded of the Big Three in South Beach has had the toughest time adjusting to his new role and team, and was quite candid about it with the media over the weekend. From the Miami Herald: “Forward Chris Bosh approached teammate LeBron James on Friday night during the Heat’s return flight from New Orleans and wanted to talk — a simple chat between new friends, friends who still had a lot to learn about each other. It was about basketball, but it was also about bonding. Six games into this grand experiment and things were not happening as easily for Bosh as he had originally envisioned. ‘I was just honest,’ Bosh said. ‘I get a little lost out there because it’s different.’ Bosh’s numbers are down to begin the season, but he insists that finding himself on the court among his new teammates cannot be measured by statistics. Bosh was averaging 13.3 points and 5.5 rebounds before Saturday’s win over the Nets … Publicly, Bosh has said the only statistic he cares about is winning. The Heat (5-2) did not win Friday night and Bosh’s reticent demeanor on the court was an obvious factor in the game’s outcome. ‘I’ve kind of been on my heels for the first part of the season, so I’m starting to figure it out; it’s starting to come to me,’ he said after Saturday’s 101-89 victory against the Nets. ‘But at the end of the day, I just have to be aggressive. That’s what it’s all about.’”

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  • JTaylor21

    T-Money, how can it be an anomaly seven games into the season? I understand if he struggled for the first few games but to continue to struggle 7 gms in and grab only 1 rebound in two different games it’s more than an anomaly. I know he has the capabilites to be a great rebounder because he has shown it in the past but there’s no excuse for his play on that glass so far, NONE. Hell both bron and wade are excelling with their strengths; bron with his passing and wade since the first game; his scoring. Wasn’t it Bosh that said that he would FOCUS on rebounding and playing D this year?

  • http://Slamonline.com Jeremy Bauman

    I like it. Good that theyre talking about this stuff and being honest with each other. it will help

  • Bruno

    I told you … Bosh sucks!!!

  • T-Money

    JTaylor21. The guys grabs 9 rebounds or more a game for 7 seasons and then has a strech at 5 rebounds for 7… games. Yeah, I’d call that an anomaly. If he’s still have one-rebound games around Xmas perhaps it should be something to look into. / I’d like to see Bosh get more involved in transition, at least as the trailer.

  • http://www.nba.com Gman

    Im with T-Money

  • http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=5493184 ENDSwing

    The Rupaul of Big Men, Just like Shaq insisted. New nickname 2 and a half men

  • cool j

    Bosh was a very good on a weak team ,what Lebron and Dwade need is a “third ” option who is a monster on the boards ,plays D and does the dirty work …not a weak power forward with an over-inflated sense of his skills.Bosh IS SIMPLY A BAD DEFENDER

  • http://google c_cantrell

    bosh has been a huge let down thus far

  • http://www.slamonline.com/ niQ

    Eboy, well in that case, I guess they’ll just have to wait til he grows his hair back. Then his rebounding powers will return.

  • Yes.We.Did.

    Chris Bosh is a different kind of big man. He doesn’t jump out of the gym like Dwight, he isn’t a bulldozer like KLove, and he’s not 3 inches taller than his peers like a Jeff Foster or an Andrew Bynum. His game is based off of movement and activity. Some of miami’s sets this year have him floating around the FT line on offense, or playing middle in that god awful 1-3-1 zone this year. This forces him out of his successful (for him) play style, and his new challenge is to integrate his activity and motion into this new scheme of basketball. Once that happens, it’ll be 18 and 11 for Mr. Bosh.

  • T-Money

    You guys are crazy overreacting. Bosh went to the line ten times last game, that’s not soft. He was getting back to his basics and that’s what he needs to do. He catches the ball in the mid post and faces up. If the defender gives him room, he shoots the j. If not, he pump fakes, takes a hard dribble in either direction and finishes with contact. That’s basically his offensive game. It works because he’s a deadly shooter so defenders have to respect the shot fake and he’s arguably the quickest 4 in the league. Bosh has a rep for not going to the rim but why is he top 5 in free throws attempted every year then?

  • rich

    as a guy who has seen basicly all of his pro games. there is a serious difference between bosh now and last year. he was intense and agressive on offense and defense yelling and screaming everywhere, and now he just doesnt do that. that has an affect of how hard he drives how well he posts up and his greatest strength, getting to the line. he is a good on ball and post defender, but not a shotblocker, which is fine. but he just needs to have that same killer instict he did before. that would explain why even the rebounds are so low

  • http://blogs.thescore.com/tbj/author/hollymackenzie/ Ghost

    Coming from a guy who watched Chris play when he first arrived here in Toronto when he was 19 years old, there’s one thing that was hard NOT to notice…dude is intelligent. He’ll figure it out soon, and when he does watch out for him. ALSO, for those calling him soft his entire career don’t know sh*t, its only been in Miami where he hasn’t been aggressive. He was a beast in Toronto getting to the line at will, creating contact, rebounding. So why the sudden change in aggression? Look at pictures of Chris in Toronto during his last year and compare them to now. He had a lot more muscle on him then and didn’t spend the previous summer in front of a camera. Bottom line, be patient.

  • Exile

    Eboy… Its too bad. I was a big fan of the DWade/Bosh tandem, but drank heavily from the haterade when LBJ joined the party. I still want Bosh to do well, but how do you go from being the top dog to an afterthought?

  • http://www.twitter.com/chris_griff_3 Chris_Griff_3

    I said all summer that Bosh wasn’t going to be anything special for Miami. He had inflated numbers on a bad team that made the playoffs only twice in his career (both seeing the Raptors take quick exits). He can’t rebound for the life of him. It’s Wade and Lebron and little else, and that’s why I don’t believe Miami will get past Boston or Orlando in the playoffs (and I won’t even consider Pau Gasol out-maneuvering Bosh in a Finals series. Unfair to Ru-Paul).

  • T-Money

    Ghost: Pat Riley hates body fat with a passion. He wants all of his players to be lean. They all look skinnier, even guys who already were skinny like Mike Miller. Bron Bron lost weight too.

  • http://www.twitter.com/JoshElam JE

    A couple years from now when the hype surrounding how this team was put together subsides, I could see Bosh being traded.

  • feez22

    … i think i should note something here. kind of to co-sign t-money. I watched plenty of raptors games last yr being a raptors fan and all… Bosh really made a true impact last yr when he put on all that extra weight. It helped him stay durable and helped him fight on the boards. looking at him now it looks like he shed 15 pounds… tbh that is NOT what bosh should have done this offseason. He is playing like the 06/07 bosh because of it (and even that bosh was ok productivity wise being the 1st option and all) I think that he is just adjusting horribly to the fact that he is the 3rd option now and needs to do the dirty work. Yes he avg 11 rpg last yr but that was mostly bc of the horrible andrea barngani. That left more “defensive” boards to chris. Now he needs to figure out how to grab some more offensive boards. Thats the tough part especially with his technique and build. Yes yall will say “rondo rebounds like crazy” or “dejuan blair is a beast on the boards”. well bosh isn’t that type of ferocious rebounder… he was LAST YEAR. but other than that ya he’s avg 20-10 before but thats mainly due to having andrea’s boards go his way. IMO, by game 25 he will be adjusted to his role. its clear that if he adjusts well this heat team will really be a formidable bunch. I know its asking a lot to bare with a 110 million dollar player but as a former 1st option it must be hard adjusting to playing with 2 future HOFers and 2 former 1st options. he just needs consistency.

  • feez22

    but yes with all that being said 1 rebound is beyond horrible… i can’t even remember the last time bosh grabbed 1 board in toronto. However for people giving up on him right now realise he is 26 yrs old and has his best days ahead of him. Clearly for the offseason (ya im pretty much looking past this season for bosh… they will make a good run in the playoffs who knows if they win the nba finals) bosh is going to have to put that weight back on. 15-20 pounds at least. The heat signed up for the bosh that played well in 09/10 not the skinny lanky bosh from 06/07 bosh needs to realise this and get back to his 09/10 form (effort wise productivity offensively will come he is a hell of an iso player yall heat fans will find that out sooner or later).

  • Cizzo

    Play Bosh at the three… Bron already’s at the point, Wade is dueces… start Haslem and Anthony… Still won’t save Bosh he’s not a Big Time dude like that

  • http://www.slamonline.com Negative Kreep

    More importantly, The Lakers seem to be clicking quite well. Most impressive have been the “killer bees” (Blake/Barnes/Brown)

  • http://www.twitter.com/TheDiesel Anton

    Bosh is a good player when given a bigger role. If you have Wade and LeBron, Bosh isn’t nearly as effective as he’d normally be. When you have those two guys, you need tough defenders and rebounders. You need the Udonis Haslems of the world, not Bosh. As of now, his role on that team is not worth the contract he signed. Right now Bosh it taken out of his element and is more of a Horace Grant player, which is not who he usually is.

  • http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2010/11/chris-bosh-i-get-a-little-lost-out-there/ Poetic Justice

    @Eboy: I also have league pass so I can watch every Heat game (among others), since we only get 2 games a week in New Zealand and usually Bucks games because of Bogut (we get Australian ESPN) …however I completely concur with what you have said about Bosh. I have been an avid fan of the Miami Heat since the playoffs of Dwades rookie year, and haven’t wavered since, not even during the 15 win season. Just so you knew I wasn’t a bandwagon jumper.

  • http://fdsjklf.com Jukai

    Ignore Bosh.
    Arroyo needs to go.
    Joel Anthony’s minutes need to be slashed.
    Those are more important to me. Bosh will learn to play to his potential. Those other two things wont.

  • http://slamonline BossTerry

    Sidenote- he’s a horrible dresser, ‘sup with all the vests??

  • Blackphantom

    The Big Two…..and Chris Bosh :/

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Jason Smith actually has made a career of hitting long jumpers. He’s been doing it since he came in the league, long jumpers and surprising athleticism have been his calling cards. He just didn’t get tick in Philly and he was injured, but dude has always played the exact same way.

  • http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=5493184 Jackie Moon

    No blame should fall on Lebron or Wade if this team fails.

  • unrel

    honestly.. what’s the difference between chris bosh and troy murphy?

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    y’all are being too hard on bosh.
    He’s struggling, but he’s capable of much more. His game has changed the most since coming to Miami and strangely I don’t think he expected it.
    I wonder how much this has to do with how the Heat scrimmaged in practice. I remember watching and noticing that Lebron, Wade and Bosh were rarely on the same team together because that wouldn’t have beem competitive. Just throwing it out there.

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    Bosh should have went to the Bulls, instead of being a role player now. It looks like Bosh is the latest Jamison to play with Lebron. They both average around 20 10 before playing with Lebron, now both playing with him are now 15 7 guys. Also for those cats hating on me for saying did Lebron make JJ Hickson better, NO he didn’t, He got him easier shots. JJ Hickson looks better without Lebron. As great as Lebron is he dominates the ball like no other, but Wade will get his, no matter what. Bosh is the odd man out, to bad Bosh is now nothing but a skinner Haslem without the corny braids. BOOK IT!!

  • The Philosopher

    Seed, you know you have braids, too.
    Ha.

  • http://slamonline.com mason eberle

    BOSH WILL AVERAGE A DOUBLE DOUBLE, BUT LETS FACE IT MIMAI DOEST HAVE SIZE

  • Patrick.

    I thought he wanted to be the center piece?

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    Bosh has to get more sets for him at the ft line extended. Hit the j, drive and finish, or pass for open shot. Spo must incorporate this.

  • http://www.lebronswitness.wordpres.com lebronswitness

    im not gonna say Bosh is overrated, but people think hes some banger in the paint whos gonna get you a bunch of rebounds..hes not that at all. He’s a finesse player and always will be.

  • http://fdsjklf.com Jukai

    ^^^
    That’s crap. You can be a finesse player and still grab a BOATLOAD of rebounds, ala Tim Duncan. I can accept he’s not going to be the warrior waiting down low in the paint for easy buckets like I originally thought, but guy has huge hops and speed, there’s NO excuse for averaging anything less than eight rebounds a game.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    This was the same point of interest that many nuggets fans and pundits alike wanted Carmelo to recognise when changing for ‘greener pastures’, sometimes the change doesn’t bode well for your game.

  • T-Money

    The Seed: you’re a Grade-A hater. It’s impossible to have a discussion with you on anything LeBron. You have never given him props for anything other than being athletic. Most of the time I don’t know if you’Re talking about Joey Graham or Bron. All that to say that I’m ignoring your opinion. / Juks: And he won’t average less than 8 boards. Because he never has and he’s in his prime. Perspective, people.

  • T-Money

    Arroyo serves no purpose and will stop playing as soon as Mike Miller comes back. The only reason is out there is because they don’t want to play Mario at all. His time in Miami is numbered. / Now on Joel, he only plays 12-15 a night and advanced stats show that he is valuable out there defensively. It’s really hard to score on Miami when he’s on the floor and they like that defensive tone at the beginning of each half. I have no problem with the big man rotation, it doesn’t matter whether Z starts – he’ll play more than Anthony. For all the talk about Bosh’s rebounding, Miami is positive on rebounding differential. / Miami’s biggest issue right now is stopping dribble penetration from the point, not defending bigs or rebounding. They went vs Howard, Lopez, Shaq and didn’t get killed by any (Okafor’s numbers were a result of drive n dish, not post ups).

  • pdbro

    T-money – Riley demands his players shed weight? Explain Antoine Walker.

  • mAMba

    Its the hair. Long hair = more rebounds. Shouldn’t have cut it.

  • http://www.youtube.com/officerbarbrady what

    Most overrated player in the league, hands down… and I’m not just saying that because he plays for Miami. I’ve believed this for a couple of years, watching him get manhandled by every strong post defender he plays against.

  • http://www.youtube.com/officerbarbrady what

    And his rebounding numbers in Toronto were way inflated thanks to playing on a team where nobody else (like Bargnani) wanted to even attempt to grab a rebound.

  • http://blogs.thescore.com/tbj/author/hollymackenzie/ Ghost

    T-Money, body fat and muscle mass are two completely different things.

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