Miami Heat: Chris Bosh as the new leader

The good old days now seem like a distant memory. Everything was all good just a month ago, when the Miami Heat were making their fourth straight NBA Finals appearance.

Now it is Game 2 of the 2014 NBA Finals and the Heat were desperately needing a victory to split the series against the almighty Spurs.

As soon as James catches Duncan in a position to stop his drive at the basket, he throws an awesome corner pass to Bosh (who then puts down his textbook), who catches the pass and nails a textbook 3-pointer (reading is fundamental). The closet person to Bosh in this situation was Kawhi “So Serious” Leonard and he was left powerless to do anything except for contest the shot two seconds too late, to no avail of course. Bosh nails the silky sweet smooth jumper giving the Heat the lead and ultimately the victory.

Series tied, 1-1.

Although the Spurs ended up winning that series and ultimately dismantling the Heat dynasty (Bye LeBron), we learned one thing that will continue to remain — Bosh will be a consistent threat late in games and will have an imprint on each game he plays.

Bosh has been known for his clutch shots throughout his time as a member of the Heat. Who can forget some of the epic clutch jumpers he has made during his time with Miami? There was the shot against the Atlanta Hawks to go overtime, the multiple shots against San Antonio and the game winner against the Portland Trail Blazers, to name a few. Bosh’s track record speaks for himself.

Bosh has often been looked upon as the Orphan Annie of the former Big 3. This red-headed stepchild was one of the main reasons that the Miami Heat franchise had the ability to host parades down on Biscayne Boulevard in back-to-back years.

Though there was speculation that Bosh (the Dallas native) would be leaving Miami for Houston after LeBron bolted for Cleveland, Bosh ended up re-signing with the Heat for another five years at $118 million. Not only did we get to see Bosh grow and expand his game, now we can be excited that he’ll get back to being the dominant player that he was in Toronto.

Coach Erik Spoelstra and his positionless basketball has made Chris a more dynamic (but not more prolific) scorer. Although Bosh attempted and made the most 3-point field goals in his career, his overall numbers took drastic tailspin.

Needless to say, Bosh sacrificed his overall career numbers in order to become the unsung hero of the deep playoff runs. This year, he is in the lead role.

With the help of Pat Riley, retooling the Heat was the priority this offseason. The Heat now boast a bunch of talent across the board on their roster, with the addition of Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger. The 2014-15 season will obviously be different, since losing the best player in the last decade will do that, but Lord Riley and company have not given up.

Fans of basketball want to continue to see the scrappy, passionate brand of basketball that the Heat have displayed since their franchise’s conception in 1988. If it just so happens that if Bosh can lead his team so fans can see the Heat defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, then that will be the icing on the cake.