5 Questions With Chris Bosh
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Media Day looks exhausting.
For the Miami Heat, it involves team employees trotting players out one by one, from stars like Dwyane Wade to long-shots like John Lucas III, to a seemingly endless assembly line of TV stations, radio hosts, writers and photographers all waiting for the rare chance to get a player's undivided attention. After several months off and the season still a month away, most players aren't going to be more relaxed and open than they are in this moment.
But some players, after an hour or two, look completely drained (especially the rookies). Not Chris Bosh.
After surviving a pulmonary embolism last February and receiving a refreshed view on life, he had a smile plastered to his face and a pep to his step the entire afternoon. Bosh was kind enough to sit down with us, with topics ranging from playing team dad on the plane for blood-clot prevention to reigniting his passion for the game.
Have you urged for the Heat to get players tested for the hereditary trait making someone more prone to blood clots? (Bosh tested negative)
Chris Bosh: I mean I think everybody should take the necessary precautions anyway. I wouldn't, no. If it doesn't mean anything don't take it. It's like okay, just take the preventative measures for clots and then just go from there... Hydration. Wearing compression socks on flights and getting up and moving. Not staying stationary for too long."
Do you see yourself playing the dad role on planes, making sure your teammates are taking those precautions?
Bosh: "[Yeah] Hey man, come on, get up [snaps fingers], who's got em. I can't help it. I don't want anybody to go through what I went though. It really sucked.
You were saying last week how you didn't feel the same passion during last season before getting hurt. What was the source of that?
Bosh: "I just felt rundown. Four Finals in a row--
Like burnt out?
Bosh: Yeah kind of burnt out and then the team dynamic changed and I wasn't ready for my role last year. We needed me to do more and I wasn't ready for that, you know mentally, or physically really. I started out fast and then injuries [came] and we didn't have the 100-percent help that you need to succeed. That's when I was like, man, I don't know it just seemed like a job after that. But now I realize after my whole situation that it wasn't that bad so that alone kind of really brought the passion back for me because it got tough and I was kind of getting down on myself and down on a lot of different things. I was kind of in a different place but now I'm like alright, I feel great. I'm happy to be here, I'm blessed to be alive and basketball, it's easy.
So you're way more in the present now?
Bosh: "Way more. Not worried about yesterday or the future, things I can't even worry about. Now I'm just in a different place and I like where I am right now."
Follow Josh on Twitter @JoshBaumgard