Miami Heat: Chris Bosh, Not LeBron or D-Wade, Is Team's Most Important Player

Chris Bosh basically became recognized as a throw in.

When he first announced that he would join Dwyane Wade in Miami, there was plenty of hype surrounding Chris Bosh and his role on a new team with one of the most dynamic players to ever play the game.

After seven years of playing with the Toronto Raptors and only two postseason appearances to show for it, it was painfully obvious by the end of the 2009-10 season that Bosh was not going to suit up for the Raptors the following year.

Joining Wade in Miami for a better chance of postseason success wasn't the right move in the eyes of Raptors fans, but it was the right move for Bosh. He was too good of a power forward to deal with a few more years of obscurity and mediocrity in Toronto.

Teaming up with Wade and being surrounded by a few quality role players would take Chris to places that he had never been before: beyond the first round. The 24 points and 11 rebounds he averaged last season were reason enough to give Bosh a near max deal.

Then "The Decision" came, and Bosh became an afterthought once again.

With LeBron James now in Miami, the forward became nothing more than a third option behind two of the most prolific scorers in the league today. It was going to be a process for Bosh to transition his identity as a primary scorer earning the entire spotlight to a third option who would mostly feast on easy buckets created by James or Wade.

He would still get a few looks, considering he is just as good a scorer as James or Wade at times, but he would still never be looked at as a primary scoring option.

He wouldn't even play the role of Wade's sidekick; he was the dreaded third wheel. His stats would decline, as would LeBron's and Wade's. But their's wouldn't suffer like Bosh's would.

The idea of the ball running through him or the idea of him leading the team to victories wouldn't be the case anymore.

It would be a difficult transition for anybody, and it showed in the Heat's season opener when Bosh scored eight points on 3 of 11 shooting, while also grabbing eight rebounds in the team's eight-point loss.

You can't blame Bosh too much for the struggles, considering it was the first time the big three played together and he was being defended by Kevin Garnett, but the Heat still expect more from a big man that was just handed $115 million.

Bosh continued to struggle and would score over 20 points only once in the first 10 games of the season. He reached a breakthrough during a Nov. 17 game against the Phoenix Suns, when Miami made it an issue to give Bosh the ball so he could get into a rhythm.

You can downplay his game all you want, but Bosh's 35 points were huge for his confidence. Don't believe so? He scored over 20 points in six of the next seven games.

Fast forward to the present, and Bosh is averaging far less than what he had posted up last season at only 18 points and eight rebounds. Even with numbers that more than half of the league's power forwards could only dream of, Bosh has been the most ridiculed and criticized player in the sporting world this year.

From his passive play to his inability to stay consistent, Bosh has been blamed for just about every problem within the organization this season.

Following a four-point loss to the Chicago Bulls where Bosh made only one of his 18 shots, the criticism just about reached its boiling point. It was hard enough seeing James and Wade forcing themselves into difficult jump shots, but there was no excuse for a 6'10" "elite" power forward to be recognized as nothing more than a jump shooter.

Even on his open jumpers, Bosh didn't have the stroke that warranted him to be recognized as a quality mid-range threat.

The five-game losing streak was a huge eye-opener to the team, as they began to experience and observe the fatal flaws that could possibly limit the team during the postseason.

Sure, the role players couldn't hit the ocean from a boat, and coach Erik Spoelstra's offense isn't exactly the type of system you want to run with these types of players—but in the end, it all came down to Bosh. It was his lack of aggression that was supposedly killing the team.

CryGate and this wasn't helping himself or the team either.

So following another seven-point game where Bosh made only three of his 11 attempted shots, while also allowing LaMarcus Aldridge to score 26 points in a nine-point Portland victory, Bosh finally unleashed his true feelings by calling out the way the offense was being run.

He claimed that as a big man, he "needs to be assertive in demanding it," when speaking about getting the ball in the low post.

With a game against the Los Angeles Lakers approaching, it was time for Bosh to either put up or shut up. He certainly hasn't proved he was worth the $16 million per year, nor was he helping Pat Riley consider if trading him for a more capable big man or point guard wasn't that bad of an idea.

Bosh knew that another break-out game was needed here if he wanted to be taken seriously as an "elite" power forward again.

24 points and nine rebounds later, Bosh became the talk of the town. The best part about the 24 points was that the majority of them came within only a few feet of the basket.

It was a sign that the Heat listened to Bosh's pleas and that he was also ready to commit to becoming a more aggressive player. Miami had plenty of mid-range threats to go around with Wade, James, Mike Miller and a few more players off the bench, but it needed aggression outside of LeBron and Dwyane.

Bosh even put on another display of aggression in Miami's big win against the Memphis Grizzlies. He scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against one of the league's best rebounders and low post presences in Zach Randolph.

The 10 rebounds was only his second double-digit rebounding of the month and only the fifth time since the beginning of February, so grabbing 10 boards against the Grizzlies definitely brought about some encouragement from the Heat community.

As much as he has been criticized for his "disappointing" year, Bosh is still the team's most important player. He is the x-factor on a team that has two of the league's top four scorers. If the team wants to legitimately compete for a title, he will play the largest role on the team come postseason, when he faces off with the likes of Kevin Garnett or Carlos Boozer.

Bosh offers a lot more than meets the eye when you observe him being comfortable and in a zone.

One of the flaws to this Heat team is its lack of aggression in the low post. With Udonis Haslem sidelined until April with a leg injury and Erick Dampier and Jamaal Magloire considered used for fossil fuels, it's up to Bosh to represent the team's aggression in the paint.

When defenses play more to keep Wade and James out of the lane and out of their comfort zone of slashing, it needs to be Bosh driving to free up some more space for the other two.

Even as a third option, a Miami Heat championship heavily leans on Bosh and his overall desire to get involved in the teams offense. If he wants to be taken seriously, he can no longer be looked at solely as a mid-range threat who will hit his jumpers half the time.

He needs to continue to showcase the aggression he showed off against the Lakers and Grizzlies in order for this team to thrive against the better teams of the league.

As for how the offense is run, coach Spoelstra should let the ball run through Bosh for a change. Not only does it limit LeBron or Dwyane from controlling the ball for too long, but it adds some versatility to an offense that desperately needs it.

If Chris can hit a few shots and get some confidence, he can be an extremely dangerous player.

What many people don't realize is that this is the same Bosh from Toronto who was consistently putting up 25 points per night last season.

He can consistently do that this season as well, if given enough chances.

With the postseason soon approaching, the Heat should experiment with letting the ball run through Bosh to add another element to Miami's non-existent offensive system. He is a good enough player to allow the offense to run through, and as long as he keeps driving, this team could tap a resource that they haven't yet unleashed.

James and Wade can do plenty and are capable of just about anything, but championships are won with team efforts.

With Wade and James taking up most of the spotlight, it's time for Bosh to become involved in this offense and become a key component of an offensive system that could use a change for once.

24 points and 11 rebounds seems outlandish and far fetched right now, but Bosh still has the potential and capability to be this team's best player.