Heat looking to make Bosh the starting center.

DieHardBallFan · Post #1 » by **DieHardBallFan** » Sun Sep 9, 2012 8:36 pm

"Chris Bosh is adding six pounds of muscle to prepare for the rigors of playing a full season at center.

Bosh’s move to center would allow Erik Spoelstra to play LeBron James more at power forward, giving the Heat mismatch advantages on both ends of the floor.

Bosh was listed at 235 pounds last season, his second with the Heat"

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... z260UZQdaA

Edit: This likely means Lebron James will be the main Heat Power Forward. As reports say. Not definite.

Thoughts? I know this has been attempted before but after seeing Bosh in the finals when not 100% I feel this is a great idea.

Downside? Playing the lakers, lol.

TRG · Post #2 » by **TRG** » Sun Sep 9, 2012 10:11 pm

I like this move. Bosh's ability to pull centers away from the basket will be extremely helpful for both LeBron and Wade offensively. It also means we can add another shooter to the starting lineup as opposed to settling with some offensive deadweight like Joel.

Chalmers
Wade
Battier
LeBron
Bosh

is a MUCH better starting lineup than...

Chalmers
Wade
LeBron
Bosh
Anthony

Only major weakness will be our rebounding/interior defense but very few teams in the league will be able to exploit that thanks to the lack of talented big men in the league. In terms of the Lakers, our entire defensive schemes have always revolved around denying the ball inside and clogging the paint, so I don't think Howard and Gasol will be as much of a problem as people think. They'll still be problems though...

Vertical Limit · Post #3 » by **Vertical Limit** » Sun Sep 9, 2012 10:58 pm

What's the downside? He would be a stretch Center that would pull Dwight or Gasol to the perimeter. Highly doubt the Lakers are going to want to see Dwight on Lebron, Lebron would just pick up easy free throws like that.

Oh yeah by the way, Bosh is taller than Dwight.

Chaos Engine · Post #4 » by **Chaos Engine** » Sun Sep 9, 2012 11:53 pm

Howard will have to respect Bosh's mid range and now 3 point shot. That will give even more room for Wade and Lebron to drive to the rim.

Time4War · Post #5 » by **Time4War** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:19 am

That quote says nothing about Lebron starting at PF. He can play Some mins at PF.

I think the starting line up will be..

Chalmers
Wade
Lbj
Lewis
Bosh

orangeparka · Post #6 » by **orangeparka** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:01 am

Hopefully he works harder on the boards.

dgomes08 · Post #7 » by **dgomes08** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:22 am

I remember Bosh rebounded very well for us when he started at the 5. Can anybody here find his rebounding average when he started at the 5?

Ratchet_Rio · Post #8 » by **Ratchet_Rio** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

and starting WHO at power forward? If the answer is LeBron or Shane this isnt a good idea. Not over the course of a 82 game season

sonicFLAME6 · Post #9 » by **sonicFLAME6** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:35 am

I don't understand. He added weight/muscle last year and still was perimeter based. That's not his game. He's a face up guy. Unless it's a defensive move I'm all for a stronger and bigger Bosh.

This IsMy House · Post #10 » by **This IsMy House** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:29 am

Mixed feelings, I know that it worked in the playoffs but I think over 82 games it will wear him down faster. It does make for great matchups for Miami since he spreads the floor so much allowing Wade and LeBron to do work. If Spo really wants to go faster moving Bosh is the best way of doing that. I just hope they start Lewis if this is the case, starting Battier isnt going to work.

Pimpwerx · Post #11 » by **Pimpwerx** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 6:04 am

Bosh gets guarded by 5s all the time. He's too tall for most PFs, and the ones that are big enough are too slow to defend him. So teams have put their starting 5s on him since two seasons ago. Him guarding 5s isn't gonna wear him out much either. The issue of wear was from him dragging around weight, which he thought hurt his knees in Toronto.

I imagine him starting out heavier and then losing the weight again over the course of the season, which I feel happened last year. I remember him being heavier at the start of the season, but by the end, he'd returned to his lighter frame. Maybe that's just confirmation bias.

As for rebounding, it's not like Joel is a great rebounder. We lose next to nothing in the rebounding department by starting Battier or Rashard. It's really not an issue a all.

As for Lebron getting worn out, I don't see it. We defend by committee, and we've had Lebron and Shane defend the post by fronting. That's not putting much stress on their bodies. Not as much as standing behind and getting backed-down. We'll be fine.

I've said it since the Finals that this is what we're moving towards. It's evident that the starting lineup in the Finals was our most-productive all season long. Why go away from that concept now? Spo will do a lot of tinkering, and hopefully Shard can return to form. His length and shooting could be extremely handy for us. For his career, he's a better shooter and rebounder than Shane. I'd love if he could become our starting PF/SF. I love our depth. PEACE.

-MK- · Post #12 » by **-MK-** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 9:34 am

dgomes08 wrote:I remember Bosh rebounded very well for us when he started at the 5. Can anybody here find his rebounding average when he started at the 5?

Reg. season - 2 games - 14.5 rpg (35.6 mpg)
First round - 5 games - 7.2 rpg (33.4 mpg)
Conf. Semis - 1 game - 5 rpg (16 mpg)
Finals ...... - 4 games - 10.5 rpg (37.3 mpg)

According to 82games.com, his NET per48 REB was -2.0 when playing at C (not only starting) last season.

Makavalli · Post #13 » by **Makavalli** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:35 pm

No way lewis would start over One of Spo's fave and Co capt Haslem. He's one of the best Rebounders and hustlers On the team so having him in their next to bosh should get a lot of offensive boards. Then u got 4 strong back ups in cole allen battier and lewis just need pittman and joel to able to give bosh good rest

dolphinatik · Post #14 » by **dolphinatik** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:23 pm

Varnado starts at the 4.

Then you have second unit of

Cole
Ray Allen
Battier
Lewis/Anthony
Pittman

Brovva Blaqq · Post #15 » by **Brovva Blaqq** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:39 pm

Looks like Spoelstra is trying to to make a virtue out of necessity. I doubt this will be a succesful strategy over the course of a full season, but what do I know...

420 · Post #16 » by **420** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:31 pm

Personally, I don't see LBJ playing PF full time. I think Spo leaves Battier at starting PF because he can spread the floor, takes pressure off LBJ/Wade to guard a wing player, but most importantly because Battier doesn't provide a spark off the bench. His best games came as a starter and he was rather useless as a bench player.

ElXavier407 · Post #17 » by **ElXavier407** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:42 pm

I think Lewis is going to get some good minutes at the 4...He played pretty damn good in Orlando & now playing with all the talent on The Heat he will do just fine.

Slot Machine · Post #18 » by **Slot Machine** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 7:14 pm

Don't mind Bosh playing the 5 the whole season, but I'm not a fan of starting Lebron at the 4.

Bubstubbler · Post #19 » by **Bubstubbler** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:53 pm

I'm anxious to see this:

Wade
Allen
LeBron (de facto pg)
Bosh
+ 1 of Battier/Lewis/Miller/Jones

Seems like a mean thing to do to an opposing team

DieHardBallFan · Post #20 » by **DieHardBallFan** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:43 am

420 wrote:Personally, I don't see LBJ playing PF full time. I think Spo leaves Battier at starting PF because he can spread the floor, takes pressure off LBJ/Wade to guard a wing player, but most importantly because Battier doesn't provide a spark off the bench. His best games came as a starter and he was rather useless as a bench player.

Hell no man. Battiers body is way to old. 3-4 straight minutes into the 1st he will be giving up too many plays.

He cannot hold most power forwards either. And he most definitely is not able to play out of the post which will really hurt the heats rebounding and paint defense.