Why Chris Bosh, Not Dwyane Wade, Is Clearly LeBron James' Sidekick
First Dwyane Wade was (willingly) superseded by LeBron James, and now he's found himself behind Chris Bosh as well.
To clarify, Bosh will never mean as much to the Miami Heat as Wade does. And neither will LeBron. But in the midst of a knee injury that has left Wade waging war against his bodily limits, things have changed. Miami's dynamic has changed.
Wade will still command the ball and respect of the defense while he's on the floor. He's a future Hall of Famer who is hardly an offensive liability. He's Dwyane freakin' Wade.
But he's not the same Wade. He's still a fighter and the ultimate team player. And he remains the driving force behind the Big Three's formation. Had he not been willing to make sacrifices, the Heat wouldn't be where they are.
He's not done making sacrifices, though. As he's attempted to play through injuries, his role has shifted.
More than most would care to admit, Wade has been an offensive decoy. He still looks for his shot and gets his touches, but he's attempting a career-low 11.7 shots and scoring a career-worst 12.2 points per game. He's become more of a playmaker (5.3 assists).
At 31, this isn't a knock on Wade either. He has two championships and an NBA Finals MVP to his credit; he has nothing to prove.
“I had some things to prove five years ago, now I just want to prove I can win,” Wade said (via Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com).
Discounting what Wade had done and continues to do on the basketball court isn't proper practice. He averaged 22 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists on a career-best 52.1 percent shooting during the regular season. He's earned our faith; our continued support.
Creating the illusion that the Heat still depend on him as much as they do Bosh, though, isn't fooling anyone.
Miami has reached a point where it can depend on Wade to play through agonizing afflictions, but it's also at a point where it must rely on Bosh more.
Bosh is averaging 13.4 points and 8.5 rebounds on a career-playoff best 51.8 percent shooting, numbers that hardly trounce those of Wade's. It's what he brings that has become more important, though.
Miami tends to run with predominantly smaller lineups, which forces Bosh to play and defend the center position. During the regular season, he spent 59 percent of the Heat's total allocated minutes manning the 5, and just two percent at the 4. His ability to box out, rebound and body up in the post is then of crucial value to a Heat team that ranked dead last in rebounding.
Not that Wade's contributions mean any less than they did, but his actual contributions are coming in smaller doses.
LeBron has proved he can carry the Heat without Wade, but can he do so without Bosh? We don't know. Because he hasn't had to.
Wade's already been forced to sit out during the playoffs and his mobility and explosiveness just hasn't been the same when he's on the court. The Heat are playing (and winning) with an incomplete Wade.
Bosh carries more responsibility as a result. And he knows this.
"I just wanted to do whatever it took to help this team win," Bosh explained (via Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald). "I think now, with a little more urgency being felt, I feel more of a responsibility to do a better job of actually securing the rebound, because everyone is boxing out."
He has taking ownership of the Heat's rebounding deficiencies. So long as they embrace the small-ball concept, they'll never be an elite band of glass-hoarders. No team can. That only increases the urgency behind them securing whatever rebounds they can. Which begins with Bosh (and LeBron).
Knowing that the road back to the NBA Finals will likely lead through the Indiana Pacers, a toweringly physical outfit, Bosh has never meant so much in South Beach. Wade—who is one of the team's best rebounders—is clearly not himself and the Heat's current path calls for more physical post play. It's on Bosh to be the difference, the one behind LeBron.
Remember, Bosh is a star. A star who has taken a backseat to LeBron and Wade since they joined forces in 2010, something he acknowledges was, and remains, a challenge.
"But I’ve kind of embraced that challenge and it continues to be a challenge," says Bosh of playing alongside LeBron and Wade (via Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida). "It’s never been easy. I try to rise to the top no matter what I do.’’
For the Heat to stay at the top, Bosh will have to continue to make sacrifices. Just like Wade. And even LeBron. He'll never be the 20 and 10 guy he was with the Toronto Raptors, because the Heat don't need him to be.
Thus far, Miami has needed him to be the Alfred to Batman and Robin; someone who assumes more of a complementary role compared to the prominent parts LeBron and Wade needed to play.
With Wade now struggling to find his offensive rhythm on an ailing knee and being reduced to more of a playmaker, the Heat need more. They need Bosh to be more like Wade. A more integral cog in their two-way machine.
They need him to be LeBron's sidekick.
When Wade is ready to be Wade again (if ever), that role will be waiting for him. Out of necessity, though, Bosh has become Miami's second-most important player (for now).
"If I was worried about my numbers I wouldn’t be here in this position," Wade said (via Windhorst).
And if he was concerned about his role changing, be it temporarily or permanently, the Heat wouldn't be in the position they are today—on top.
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