Photo: Getty Images - Chris Graythan
- Troy BallardWe have all partaken at least once in the Chris Bosh joke-fest, but now, the Miami Heat are the last ones looking for a laugh.
Chris-Chris left the Heat's first game throw-down early against the Indiana Pacers and didn't return in what was later reveled as an abdominal strain. The injury will have the Third King sidelined for likely the remainder of this series against the Pacers, and possibly even beyond that.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are sweating bullets.
Maybe not quite, as both Wade and James were able to explode in the second half of Game 1 against Indiana and carry the Heat to a 1-0 lead in the series.
But even if Wade and James continue to dominate for the remainder of this series against a relatively unproven Pacers team, how far will Miami go without Bosh on the floor?
The blunt answer -- the NBA Finals.
Now, I can rattle off 50 different numbers about why Bosh is key to the Heats' success (and trust me he is), but the fact of the matter is this -- the East this year is weak, and chances are, the Pacers, Celtics, or Sixers won't be able to down the behemoth that is Miami.
Wade and James are good enough to continue to carry the team through the playoffs and all the way into the Finals, even if takes a few more games in each series then planned.
But the Finals -- that's where not having Bosh is really going to sting.
When push comes to shove, James and Wade are going to be running on fumes when the Finals roll around. Those two will be playing from behind almost the entire playoffs, as the moment one or both leave the game, the Heat are going to fall behind. It's going to be overtime for the two superstars, and without Bosh, both offensively and defensively Miami is going to be tested.
The Heat will use a revolving door of players to try and fill-in for Bosh on the court, and the trio is going to be Joel Anthony, Ronnie Turiaf and possibly even James. As much as I love Ron-Ron, he's no Bosh, and as well as Anthony played in Game 1 against the Pacers, he certainly isn't going to be a reliable option down the line.
This means that both Wade and James are going to have to attack the paint more than ever, in an effort to slash to the rim, and also to snag rebounds. There will be almost no interior defense, and although Bosh is not known for locking down the paint, his absence will be felt.
Along with the lack of defense and rebounding, the ever-critical Miami-One-Man-Show-Offense is going to take hold, and it's almost a guarantee that ball movement will come to a grinding halt. Without ball movement, Wade and James are going to be forced into bad shots. Those bad shots are eventually going to lead into frustration, and when players are frustrated, teams have a tendency to lose.
Miami will be able to sneak by the weaker teams in the East without Bosh, but when it comes to the Finals against teams like the Thunder, Lakers, or Spurs -- that's when there is going to be a problem.
Really, this could be a totally moot point if Bosh rebounds from the strain and gets back into the starting line-up sooner rather than later. But the chance is always evident that he could be riding the bench for the remainder of the playoffs, and if that is the case, Miami better hope that James and Wade can both drop 50 a night.
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