Chris Bosh Thinks The Re-Built Heat ‘Absolutely’ Can Win The East This Season

Chris Bosh
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The Miami Heat have the talent. Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Chris Bosh, and Hassan Whiteside comprise perhaps the most intriguing starting five in basketball, and offseason additions Amar’e Stoudemire, Justise Winslow, and Gerald Green ensure that Miami’s bench won’t be the weakness it was last season.

Basketball, though, isn’t played on paper. The Heat have much to prove before those starry names equate to the on-court success this franchise is accustomed. Playoff berths aren’t enough in South Beach; Pat Riley wants trophies.

And Bosh, for one, believes Miami has the makings to reign atop the Eastern Conference some late spring – as long as everything comes together. Here’s the two-time champion on the Heat’s chances during a Thursday morning interview with Sirius XM NBA Radio, courtesy of Hot Hot Hoops’ Surya Fernandez.

For his final question, Bosh was asked about the Heat’s chances of returning to the NBA Finals and if the team has what it takes to make it.

“Absolutely,” he responded. “I think we do. We have the experience, we have the talent, we have the leadership, we just all have to bring those things together. (If we) bring the chemistry on the court, believe in ourselves, and just go out there and let it hang loose and compete, then I think we’ll be alright.”

Getting the best from Miami’s impressive and enviable attributes, however, could prove extremely difficult. The core of this group has yet to take the floor together, and Erik Spoelstra has his work cut out for him to rebuild his team’s two-way schemes to boast suit its personnel.

How will Bosh adjust offensively to Whiteside owning the paint? Will Wade be able to develop the off-ball synergy with Dragic that’s been a hallmark of his late career? Can anyone other than Gerald Green stretch the floor? And perhaps most importantly, will this team be able to defend at just a league-average level?

There’s no easy solution to those questions and so many more, but Miami must answer them affirmatively to dethrone the man who’s been a fixture of the NBA Finals for five consecutive Junes – not to mention teams below LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference pecking order like the Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, and Chicago Bulls.

If the Heat can do it, though, Bosh’s tepid confidence might not sound so crazy once the season finally tips-off late next month.

(Via Hot Hot Hoops)

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