LLJ wrote:I'm not sure if Bosh "finally" realizes that he can drive to the hoop anytime he wants--I think he's just healthy enough to do it now. Plus, his jumper's working a little better than before, which opens up his drive.
Teams won't give you the drive if you're shooting bricks, no matter how great your first step is. And Bosh's first step always depends on his health, as most players are. Only some players refuse to drive even when healthy. Vince is an example, so is T-Mac these days.
It would be extremely tough for Bosh to constantly drive hard to the hoop 82 games a year and not be utterly exhausted and beat up by April.
So let's say you're the opposing coach. Do you tell you players to get close to CB and take away that 18-footer? Or do you say, encourage him to take that shot, just do not give him an easy drive where (taking foul shots into account) he's shooting the equivalent of 75%?
Bosh doesn't have to constantly drive to the hoop to be effective, but the defense has to consider it a possibility. If he is a threat to drive, someone has to come help. That means a shooter is free. Since we have the best three point shooting team in the league, that causes huge problems for defenses. When he shoots 18-footers, no one has to help his defender. Same applies when he receives the ball and holds it for 2 or 3 seconds before taking a (largely ineffective) shot, passing it back out, or making a drive that is by then covered by two, sometimes three men.
