Bosh: "It's All About the Mentality of the Players"
By WQAM Staff
The Miami Heat's 10-12 start is far from ideal, but Chris Bosh maintains the confidence that his team can still compete for a title as this franchise continues to move on from LeBron James.
"It hasn't been a good quarter for us. It's been a .500 quarter," Bosh told Grantland in an interview when the Heat were 9-9. "I think it's all about the mentality of the players.
"I believe that we can, but we have to be so on our game. We can't make many mistakes. We might run into a team that is more talented than us, but I think we can make up for it with hard work and execution."
Losing to the Spurs in the NBA Finals last year has opened Bosh's eyes regarding how far a franchise can climb if they embrace the team concept. Could Miami borrow the blueprint from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to beat teams that are probably -- on paper -- more talented than Miami?
"Ever since seeing the Spurs play — you look at the Spurs, and I mean no offense to them, but you wouldn't be like, 'Oh, that's a championship team,' just by looking at 'em. But they will run you into the ground. Because they buy into their system, and they do it together.
"We're at an era of basketball now where everybody has to be in sync, because it's so hard to both score and stop people — how fast the game is now."
With December 15 marking the first date free agent signees from this summer can be traded, it will be interesting to see whether Heat President Pat Riley is willing to retool the roster just a quarter into the season or if he decides to stay the course.