Can Chris Bosh Carry the Miami Heat to the NBA Playoffs?

Chris Bosh was fantastic in Thursday night's triple overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

In a hypothetical world where the Miami Heat would be without both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade for any lengthy period of time, could Bosh carry this team for a lengthy period of time?

More importantly, could Bosh single-handedly carry the Heat into the playoffs without both Wade and James?

The answer to both questions is yes.

Miami wouldn't be title contenders by any stretch, but Bosh is more than capable of leading the Heat to success.

Bosh, at times, can be the forgotten superstar of the Miami Heat trio, but he's a talented superstar nonetheless.

Before signing with Miami, Bosh led the Toronto Raptors to their first division title during the 2006-07 season and left Toronto as the Raptors' all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, double-doubles, free throws made and attempted, and minutes played.

Playing with James and Wade, people often forget how good Bosh really is.

While currently the Heat don't have to worry about being without their two stars for an extended period, at least they have a guy like Bosh to fall back on. No other team in the league has that luxury.

Things wouldn't be ideal without James and Wade, having to put everything on the shoulders of Bosh, but between him and the other good role players the Heat would have around him, there's no reason to think that Bosh couldn't get Miami to the playoffs.

Of course I wouldn't expect too many more buzzer-beating shots from behind the arc from Bosh, but the Heat would be in good hands with him on a short-term basis.

As far as reality goes though, Miami fans should hope it never comes to that. Bosh is good, but he's no James or Wade.

The fate of the Heat will be in much better hands when their two superstars return.