Slim Charlez wrote:Doctor MJ wrote:Slim Charlez wrote:
Everyone???? If Bosh is in the HOF thanks to lebron and weak Eastern conference all star appearances why wouldn't a better player with a better individual resume like LMA be a shoe in? LMA is 100% a hall of famer
I'd agree with you that he might get in the Hall, but:
1. Bosh is in the Hall because of his role on the Heatles. Yes his time in Toronto was important too, but if all Bosh did was was play for teams who never got there, there'd be no reason to expect him in the Hall.
2. I'm more impressed by what Bosh demonstrated than Aldridge. I don't think you win a title with a big man who insists on volume scoring from mid-range. Bosh adapting to become more of a (3-point shooting) role player on offense demonstrated his ability to play offensively with 2 superior offensive players - which is really what Aldridge needed to do - and Bosh's defensive play on those Heatles was HUGE.
1. I get it, but how crucial was Bosh to the Heats success really? He was bad for 3 of their 4 finals appearances, he's in there because of circumstance rather than his actual game. Not to say he wasn't a really good player, but ultimately he's in because Lebron got him two rings and he was able to make a ton of all star appearances in a historically weak Eastern conference. Put LMA in that same situation and they win the same amount easily.
2. That's fair, Bosh is the more aesthetically pleasing player, people forget that LMA was an underrated defender and has now in later years been able to stretch his range out to the three point line, just because he played like an old school low post big doesn't mean he didn't have the ability to play a more expansive game and adapt like Bosh did. Also what exactly did we see Bosh do on his own? LMA was consistently one of the best forwards in a stacked Western Conference for about a decade, has more All NBA appearances and for the most part always kept his teams competitive even if they were unremarkable. Bosh maybe wouldve done the same post Lebron but facts are facts.
1. On some level it doesn't matter because he's going to be remembered as part of a Big 3 that one multiple titles, and every guy in history who meets that description is in the Hall. But I think it also has to be remembered that the Heatles were playing largely with 4 perimeter players and Bosh as their 5. While there are other guys who could have played that role defensively, whoever was in that role was vitally important to the team succeeding. When you add in that he was operating as a stretch 5 offensively, that's particularly valuable particularly for a team that had LeBron & Wade as their two offensive engines (neither of whom is great from range). Then you add in that people know he was an all-star level alpha before Miami, and seemed poised to be going back to the role before his heath scare forced him to retire, and you see a guy who has just proven himself in a variety of ways.
2. I don't want to besmirch Aldridge's defense. It was good, but I don't think it was as impressive as what Bosh did in Miami.
Re: "just because he played like an old school low post big". No he didn't. Aldridge was always a finesse player who was more likely to shoot from the deep mid-range (16 feet plus) than anywhere else - and he was criticized for it and regularly called "soft"! Bosh on the other hand really was a guy who focused on scoring near the basket in his first half decade or so.
Re: doesn't mean he couldn't adapt like Bosh did. The issue with Aldridge isn't so much that we know he couldn't, but that he really didn't try until he was post-prime despite the fact there were reasons for him to adapt much earlier. In Portland it made sense for him to change his game as Lillard emerged, instead he became insecure and signed in San Antonio...where he then became insecure again as Kawhi emerged. Pop was able to hold his hand through this, but he was still a volume scoring mid-ranger all through that time period, and that's really, really not what Kawhi needed.
All this can sound super-super negative and I know that's not helpful, but the thing about Aldridge like DeRozan is that both have shown that it's not easy for them to change how they play, and that's a thing that's objectively difficult so it's not like it should be a surprise when guys struggle. But this is where Bosh's extreme, rapid transformations really stand out. The LeBron/Wade team needed him to adapt quickly and adroitly because they themselves couldn't, and Bosh did it.
*INGRAM*ALLSTARSEASON* Wemby is HIM
