Chris Bosh: Playing in Game 1 of an NBA Finals Is Like 'A Cold War in Sneakers'

There is a sect of fans who don't believe playoff basketball is all that different from the regular-season sort. Those fans would be wrong, according to Chris Bosh.

In his latest post on his The Last Chip website, Bosh wrote that Game 1 of a playoff series is like a "cold war in sneakers."

"In general, I hate Game One. After spending days preparing for a team based on tape from the past, you have to recalibrate to address the way they’re playing right now," Bosh wrote. "It’s a cold war in sneakers—you’re sussing each other out, not quite sparring yet."

Bosh was specifically speaking on Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals, the last title the Big Three Heat won together. The Spurs went on the road and won that Game 1 in a close, drag-it-out 92-88 affair that "sent us off the court with plenty to think on."

Miami would rally and eventually win the series in seven games, pulling off one of the most thrilling comebacks in NBA history in Game 6 before finishing things off in the deciding contest.

Over the course of his career, Bosh wasn't much for Game 1s. Of the 17 Game 1s he played during his career, Bosh only scored over 20 points four times—and had single digits in four contests. 

Luckily for the Heat and Bosh, he tended to get better as series went along.