Chris Bosh is paid like a superstar. But, there are a lot of people contending that he isn’t one. One of those is Carlos Boozer. Starting Sunday, the two All-Star power forwards will go head-to-head in the Eastern Conference Finals, and figure to be at the center of the most important matchups. Because of that, the smack talk has already started.
Shandel Richardson, who covers the Heat for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, tweeted out this update earlier this morning: Carlos Boozer says the Heat have two great players. Hmm, which member of the Big 3 did he leave out?
Whether he actually intended to leave Bosh out or not isn’t exactly the point. Subconsciously, he did, which points to his respect level for Miami’s power forward.
During the regular season, Bosh went for 15.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg against Chicago while Boozer averaged 13.3 points and 9.7 rebounds. Both players had bouts with inconsistency all season long, and those concerns escalated in the playoffs. Bosh struggles to be aggressive, especially now that he is a very distant third option while Boozer can’t always finish inside against length and physicality.
When Bosh has played well in the playoffs, Miami is virtually unbeatable. He’ll face a physical front from the Bulls, but must have a couple of big nights if Miami is going to win. Ironically, even though these two might hold the key to the series, they won’t always be checking each other because of the presence of defensive aces like Joel Anthony and Taj Gibson. Still, the Eastern Conference could come down to two of the NBA’s most maligned stars.
Will Bosh show up and prove Boozer wrong?
Who will win this matchup?
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