Sunday, July 29, 2012

Top PF going into 2012-2013, #6 Chris Bosh

We continue our countdown of the top power forwards heading into the 2012-2013 NBA season with Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat at number 6. Now, Chris Bosh is a very tough player to evaluate. Bosh is coming off a bitter sweet season, he was hurt for a crucial and key run of the Heat's playoff run, but managed to return in time and was definitely a factor in the conference finals game 7, and the NBA finals. Whether as much a factor as he would have liked? probably not, but it would be unfair to expect more coming off an injury and straight into the middle of conference finals against the Boston Celtics. Ultimately it culminated with a championship though.
Chris Bosh in our minds is one of the most underrated star players in the league. He sacrificed his numbers for a shot at winning and it has worked out well so far. Lets look at his numbers, for the 2011 2012 regular season:  18.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, on 48% FG. Now, obviously Bosh does not get the touches he used to get back in toronto when you have to superstar players in James and Wade. But outside of about 5 to 6 players, could any BIG(not power forward, but big players in general) produce and complement these two players the way Bosh does?
Bosh provides a tough matchup for defenses for a variety of reasons, he's a true 6-11 long and more athletic than people think. Bosh has a great post up game, and can finish around the rim with both hands. He has range up to the three point line and a GREAT pump fake on the perimeter. This play is more than meets the eye for those who are more than the average fan. Bosh is a great pick and roll player, in that play bosh popped out instead of rolling to the rim, Diaw has to recover faster than what he's accustomed to because of bosh's feathery jumpshot. Then you see Bosh's underrated athletic ability as he finishes with force. His jumpshot makes him a threat from virtually anywhere on the floor, he gets it off quickly and has a high release. Take this play, Bosh essentially pulls a guard move with the jab step and jumpshot (notice the pump fake).
Against bigger stronger defenders bosh uses his speed and craftiness to go around them and against smaller defenders he simply uses his length and size to his advantage. Now, Bosh should be higher on this list, but his injury slowed him down, along with several other parts of his game. Bosh seemed to have left his rebounding back in toronto. This is unacceptable, The Heat since the formation of their big 3 have been known for their lack of interior size. They NEED bosh to rebound, 7.9 RPG is nowhere near what bosh should be rebounding. His last season in toronto he averaged 10.8 RPG, and thats what he should be doing for the Heat. He also needs to be more of a shot blocker, he's a career 1.1 BPG and last season average a insignificant 0.8 BPG (Ironically Dwyane Wade is the team's primary shot blocker at 6-4). If Bosh rebounds at the rate he's capable of rebounding and becomes a bigger force on the defensive end, then watch out. We expect him to be higher on this list next season (barring injury), but how high? thats up to him
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