Miami Heat Rumors: Chris Bosh Developing Three-Point Shot, Expanding Arsenal

With Mike Miller gone until the end of January due to a sports hernia surgery, which he will need to recover from. The Miami Heat find themselves without their most consistent threat from beyond the arc, once again.

Miller was given $30 million last offseason after shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc with the Washington Wizards. He could never get off on the right track during his first year with the Heat.

He suffered a thumb injury in preseason, that would force him out until December. He would then struggle with more injuries throughout the season before shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc to end the year.

Shooting 30 percent in the postseason didn't help either. It was obvious that the Heat needed help from beyond the arc. They managed to find a key acquisition in veteran Shane Battier, who is a career 39 percent shooter from deep.

Battier has averaged as much as two three-pointers per game. Also, he has shot 42 percent, which is perfect for a team like the Heat who could really use the help from deep.

Among the other shooters, include recently re-signed players in Mario Chalmers and James Jones, as well as Eddie House. Jones is coming off a solid season where he filled in for Miller and shot 43 percent.

But he provided no intangibles and couldn't defend, rebound, or pass. He pitches a tent from beyond the arc and waits for the kick out, which is not what the Heat want out of their top perimeter threat.

Chalmers and House? Inconsistent and streaky. Neither player should be relied on as a top-tier perimeter threat.

With Miller injured and Battier now being the lone multidimensional perimeter threat, that can provide other aspects of the game besides three-point shooting. The Heat aren't in too much of a better position than last season.

Sure they get Battier to actually attract some attention and add some consistency off the bench, but he won't be in for the entire game. It's going to take more than one three-point threat to propel this team to the Finals again.

But, what if I told you that the Heat's top three-point threat was here all along? It's not Dwyane Wade and LeBron James who are both wildly inconsistent from beyond the arc, but rather their other member of the big three in power forward Chris Bosh, who possibly holds the answer to the Heat's three-point shooting woes.

It turns out that his arms weren't the only thing that Bosh was working on. Coach Erik Spoelstra reports that he worked on his three-point shooting all throughout the extended offseason. He will now be looked at as a viable threat from beyond the arc this upcoming season.

Bosh took note of the effectiveness of Dirk Nowitzki in the Finals last season, and now aspires to be as deadly a shooter from downtown much like his matchup from the Finals.

Don't laugh and try to shoo this thought away either. Three-point shooting was actually a large part of Bosh's game in college. He managed to convert on nearly half of his three-point attempts in the lone season he spent at Georgia Tech.

We just haven't seen that aspect of his game at the NBA level, because he claims that the offense never called for it.

Believe that the offense will be calling for it next season. With Bosh garnering a three-point shot and actually drawing attention out there; as well as still in the mid-range and post, the Heat continue to spread the floor, and therefore allow more room for drives.

It's even greater that a power forward like Bosh can stretch the floor, because it causes the opponents power forward to have to remain on the perimeter. This allows little resistance to the rim for James and Wade.

Bosh has always been considered one of the league's top shooting big men from the mid-range. He does have range out towards the perimeter, but he has never seemed to take the step back and attempt to become effective from beyond the arc. For his career, Bosh has shot 56 of 193 from deep which is good enough for 29 percent.

He only attempted 25 three-pointers last season and managed to convert on six. Don't let the lowly percentages turn you off from the idea of Bosh becoming a three-point shooter. He has rarely practiced on them since leaving the NCAA level.

This summer was one of the first times in his NBA career that he has attempted to enhance his game to another level outside of his comfort zone.

Now don't think Bosh is going to become this primary threat from deep for Miami. He'll be utilized from beyond the arc to hit open or trailing three-pointers. He will keep the defense on their toes and aware, that the Heat have another three-point threat that they can rely on to consistently hit shots.

He's not Mike Miller's replacement, but rather just a distraction from the prolific driving abilities of his teammates.

With Bosh working on his three-point shot and adding another dimension to this team, the Heat can now look forward to an open court. The addition of a perimeter threat can actually do more than camp out from the land of three.