Chris Bosh Injury: How Heat Have Adjusted Without Star Forward

The Miami Heat finally showed a significant adjustment without Chris Bosh's presence in their Game 4 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Bosh was averaging 14.7 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game in the playoffs. His injury left Miami helpless on the interior, and left the entire offense in the hands of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.

Miami's adjustment finally happened on Sunday.

Let's take a look at what Miami did to adjust and what it will mean for the rest of the series.

Miami's Adjustment

Playing Ronny Turiaf for just 14 minutes in Sunday's game was a great idea. It allowed for Udonis Haslem to play 20-plus minutes, and Haslem chipped in 14 points off the Miami bench.

The Heat are at an obvious disadvantage in the paint without Bosh.

Bosh drew post players away from the basket, opened up the interior and allowed Miami's space-eaters to go work down low.

Without Bosh, the Heat forwards are forced to make plays for themselves.

Prior to Game 4, this created a problem. James was forced to play down low, hurting Miami's perimeter play. It was addition by subtraction.

In Game 4, LeBron still played down low, but he was more efficient. His 40 points did not include any three-point attempts and James dished nine dimes in the game, several of which came with his back to the basket.

How Will It Impact the Rest of the Series?

The Pacers had taken complete advantage of Bosh's impact prior to Game 4.

David West and Roy Hibbert dominated the first three games without Bosh in the lineup. Joel Anthony, Ronny Turiaf and Haslem had no answer whatsoever.

James' adjustment to playing power forward makes a tremendous difference in this series. He changes games by himself because of his triple-double potential.

With James' presence down low and Miami's understanding of how to use him, the Pacers are at a disadvantage. West and Hibbert cannot contain James' athleticism or counter his scoring and distribution.

The Heat must still play solid in every other aspect, but their interior play is the difference between victory and grave disappointment.