Miami Heat’s Chris Bosh nears return as a starter
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra wouldn’t come out and say it Wednesday, but he gave every indication that power forward Chris Bosh would be inserted into the starting lineup for Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
Bosh scored 19 points off the bench in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, and the offensive punch was so important to the outcome of the series that Spoelstra decided to keep Bosh in the same role for the start of the Finals. The experiment appears to be over. Bosh scored 10 points and had five rebounds in 34 minutes on Tuesday.
“The last two games he’s been able to handle more minutes,” Spoelstra said. “I think we can start to incorporate him more to who he was and his strengths right before he got injured.
“He was so accommodating the last three or four games just trying to fit in. But we need him to be a little bit more who he is.’’
Bosh missed nine consecutive games of the playoffs due to an abdominal strain. The Heat worked him back slowly in the Eastern Conference finals, but he indicated Wednesday that he’s ready to fill his normal role as the team’s starting power forward.
“Like I’ve been saying, if coach wants to put me out there, I’m more than available,” Bosh said. “I’ve started a bunch of games in this league. I’m ready to go.”
Bosh wasn’t happy with his performance in Game 1. Most of his points came on jump shots.
“I feel I could have given a lot more, and I’m going to fix that,” Bosh said. “I made some mistakes that I shouldn’t have made and, you know, that happens sometimes.
“But we’re going to have to correct all those errors and just really see where we could have been a lot better, and I know for me, I just have to be more aggressive and things will work out.”
More adjustments
Spoelstra has made plenty of changes to his rotation throughout the playoffs. Expect more in Game 2.
“I’ll probably go a little bit deeper into the rotation, obviously,” Spoelstra said. “Try to get the guys a little more rest. But we’re not making any excuses.”
For the majority of Game 1, Spoelstra went with a six-man rotation. Besides Bosh’s 24 minutes, Mike Miller played 10 minutes and Joel Anthony had a brief cameo of three minutes. Beyond that, no other reserves got off the bench.
Late scratch
After Game 1, Spoelstra said he would have to see who was “really available” for Game 2. He clarified the comment Wednesday, explaining that James Jones had a migraine and “wasn’t available right before the game.”
Jones should be available for Game 2.
This story was originally published June 13, 2012 at 9:01 PM with the headline "Miami Heat’s Chris Bosh nears return as a starter."