Miami Heat: Saint Bosh

Let’s recap for a second. Last season, the Heat were an injury ridden organization. Most notably was Chris Bosh’s blood clot in February 2015, which looking back, all started with that calf strain in December 2014. That initial calf strain is what led the Heat to call up Whiteside from the D-League, who had signed with the Heat in November. I think it’s safe to assume that had Chris Bosh not suffered from the calf strain, Hassan would still be in Sioux Falls as a D-Leaguer. Now, instead, he’s setting records, recording triple doubles, and he’s arguably the best shot blocker in the NBA! “Ain’t nobody doing it with blocks”…

The Godfather, Pat Riley, also saw a need to upgrade at the Guard position. Cole had suffered some hand injuries and Chalmers wasn’t playing up to his contract. Most importantly, Wade suffered a series of injuries, keeping him off the court. Dragic, a PG 3rd team all NBA player, was unhappy in Phoenix and mentioned Miami in his shortlist of teams he would resign with if traded there. Riley went to work and was able to orchestrate a 3-team trade including New Orleans. The Heat sent away Cole, Granger, Williams and Hamilton to New Orleans, and acquired the Dragic brothers from Phoenix. Goran would go on to sign a 5-year deal during the offseason. It took some time to figure out how to use him, mostly because he didn’t mesh well with D-Wades style of offense, but during a short stint while Wade was out with an injury, coach Spo decided to run the fast-paced offense that Dragic thrives in, and he executed it to perfection. Wade had no problems adjusting when he returned, so that they can continue running this type of offense, and now the Heat are consistently putting up 100+ point games!

Due to last season’s injuries of both Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng, also, let’s face it, dudes ain’t getting any younger, the Heat decided to address the Guard and Forward positions through the draft, which Pat does not usually bother with, as he likes to build through free agency. The Heat picked at # 10, and were surprised to see Justise Winslow, Forward from Duke, still sitting there. Everyone knows the Heat have a collective hard-on for Duke, so it was an easy pick. Justise has been one of the Heat’s best defenders, routinely taking the assignment of guarding their opponent’s #1 scoring option. Their next pick was at # 40, and the Heat chose Guard Josh Richardson out of Tennessee. Not gonna lie, I knew nothing about him, and I didn’t feel like doing the research, but he’s fitting in nicely, and definitely earning his minutes increase. Dude plays hard on both sides of the ball, and he can hit the 3-point shot, with consistent increasing confidence, which is a necessity for the Heat.

Last offseason the Heat also signed Amar’e Stoudemire for some “big man depth”. True, they already had Birdman, but they wanted to get rid of his contract anyway in order to get under the luxury tax, which they did by sending him to Memphis to join Mario Chalmers, who was part of an earlier trade with Memphis for the same reason. Amar’e started the season rehabbing an injury, but started seeing increasing playing time when Whiteside got suspended for being a dumbass (I guess elbows to the face don’t fly in the NBA). At least he’s OUR triple double dumbass! Anyway, this lead to the Heat stumbling upon a resurgence of Amar’e as a starter and the discovery that Whiteside coming off the bench, but playing starter’s minutes, increased his Player Efficiency Rating and also kept him out of foul trouble, which allows the Heat to use him late in games.

Let’s revisit that blood clot in his calf that cost Bosh the remainder of last season. Not because I want to, but because the blood clot decided to revisit anyway! Only this time it wasn’t a serious health scare like it was last season. Good thing they caught it early. What does that mean for the team, though? Bosh is the teams best shooter from 3-point range, and the Heat were already near the bottom in those league rankings, so losing Bosh for the season definitely hurts. Luckily, the nets decided to waive Joe Johnson, a proven scorer and 7-time all star. The Heat provided the best scenario for maximum minutes for Joe, and Riley was able to get the deal done. Since joining the Heat, in only a handful of games, Johnson has already sunk double digit 3-pointers! They’re still not making them on the level of the Golden State Warriors (really, who the fuck is?), but the threat of the 3-pointer keeps opposing defenses honest. Add that to the fast-paced offense and we should be calling him Nitro Joe in no time.

Now, losing Chris Bosh to gain Whiteside, & Johnson isn’t ideal, but this week Bosh put out a statement claiming that he no longer has the blood clot, he’s been going through workouts, walking through plays in the new offense, and he’s aiming to make a return this season.

It sucks that Bosh had to suffer in order for all these great players to fall on the Heat’s lap, but maybe the Heat view him as their personal Jesus. Lebron acted out the “original sin”, so Bosh martyred his seasons, so Heat fans can go back to the promised land. Hopefully, Bosh can make it back for the playoffs, just after Easter. And we’ll all be able to shout “He is risen!”, and ascend back to NBA Heaven, The Finals!

So who’s joining me in lighting some Saint Bosh candles. Im pretty sure you can find them in Little Havana.