Bosh Ready To Start Or Come Off The Bench
OKLAHOMA CITY (CBSMiami) – The question heading into the Eastern Conference finals for the Miami Heat was would Chris Bosh play? Heading into the NBA Finals, the only question left for the Heat is will he start or come off the bench?
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra isn't giving any indications on what his thinking will be with Bosh in the NBA Finals. Bosh was a starter during the regular season, but after he suffered an injury in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals; he missed the next nine straight games.
Once Bosh was ready to come back into the lineup, Spoelstra decided to bring him off the bench for Game 5 and Game 6. Going into Game 7, the thinking was Bosh would be reinserted into the starting lineup, but he again came off the bench.
In Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, Bosh was the catalyst Miami was missing without him in the lineup. He scored 19 points and hit three 3-point shots in the game, including a game-changing 3-pointer from the corner with about 6 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
"I'll consider everything by tomorrow (Tuesday) night," Spoelstra said Monday. "I think he can handle more minutes. We'll have to see. He was able to handle the 31 minutes. He had to come out a couple of times because of wind, but I think each game we'll get better."
Regardless of what his role will be, for his part, Bosh is ready to do whatever it takes to help the team climb the final mountain.
"Like I've been saying the past week, it really doesn't matter to me," Bosh said. "I just want to be out there and we want to give ourselves the best chance to win. So, whatever that means, that's what's going to work out for me and the team."
(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
