After all, they’re not calling LeBron, Wade, and Bosh the “Three Kings” for nothing.

While Chris may not be as heralded as LeBron, he brings a game that is nearly James’ equal in statistical relevance, and totally equal in importance to the fate of the Miami Heat.

Miami won’t be winning many titles with just talented wing players; they’ll need a dominant post presence, and Bosh provides that.

A recent article I read (by a guy who laughingly considers himself objective), tried to posit that Bosh was, as he put it, “a good, not elite, player in the NBA.”

Beyond the numerous grammatical errors and lack of any real style in the writing, the author also revealed a true lack of basketball knowledge in his analysis of Chris Bosh’s game and talent.

For instance, he implies that Bosh’s man-to-man defense is sorely lacking.

Granted, he makes this implication while also making note of the fact everyone raved about his defense while coming off the bench playing for Team USA in the 2008 Olympics, but he obviously thinks that was some sort of aberration.

As evidence of that, he states that during the Toronto Raptors 2009-10 season, opposing “centers” averaged scoring 20 points “per 48 minutes” against Bosh.

First, Bosh was not Toronto’s center, Andrea Bargnani was (with Rasho Nesterovic backing him up), and wasn’t playing against the opposing centers most nights.

He doesn’t provide any specific statistics to back up his claim, but I would bet my bottom dollar that the players whose stats he’s basing this little statement on weren’t being guarded by Bosh in almost all of those games.

Second, and this is far more important, he’s using these stats of these opposing “centers” and pushing the envelope in his statistical shenanigans by using their “per 48 minutes” average.

So, while Bosh averaged 24 points a game (PERIOD) last year, this guy is going to try and develop an argument that he wasn’t defending the player he was guarding well based on how many points he MAY have averaged if he had played the full 48 minutes of the game.

Talk about total BS.

The simple fact is, if you go and check the stats, or better yet, if you had watched most of the games (as I did), that Bosh played, you’d know that he is a supremely talented man-to-man defender.

Like any truly gifted defender, Bosh moves his feet well, and keeps himself between his opponent and the basket, not giving him much room to operate. He doesn’t reach very often, which is a definite no-no in the modern NBA, as most players will simply wait for you to do so and “run” into your reaching arm, drawing a foul.

He’s also a very gifted shot-blocker, who is able to anticipate his opponents moves well, and be at the apex of his leap right when the ball is about to leave his opponents hand, granting him the best possible chance of blocking the shot without being called for a foul.

Add to this the fact he’s a pretty damn good help defender as well, and then take into account he’s averaged over 22 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game for five seasons (24 PPG and 11 RPG last season), and it’s pretty obvious Bosh isn’t “a good, not elite, player in the NBA” but a damn superstar.

It’s precisely why, beyond LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh was the most sought-after free agent in this past Free-Agency bonanza.

Those GMs all knew and know what Bosh brings to the table, and they were and are impressed with what they see.

They realize that Bosh is a young, 26-year-old phenom who hasn’t even reached his potential yet.

Unlike many other talented post players in the NBA who are equally lauded to some degree, yet have never posted the numbers Chris has, such as Carlos Boozer and Amar’e Stoudemire, Bosh has never played with a top-tier point guard.

Carlos had Deron Williams, and Amar’e had Steve Nash. Chris had Jose Calderon, who, while a very decent point guard, has nowhere near the skill of Nash or Williams when it comes to setting up a power forward for an easy score.

There’s another part of this author’s argument that I feel falls flat on its face. However, on this, I’ll at least admit that I’m going against the conventional wisdom.

He states that Bosh’s statistical numbers should decline this coming year. He makes some relatively decent points, and most so-called “experts” would likely agree with his argument. However, there is a case to be made that his argument, even this part of it, is sheer balderdash (that’s a euphemism for BS).

He states that the Phoenix Suns averaged approximately 83 shot attempts this past season, and that if you were to take a look at the number of shot attempts taken by the “Three Kings” last year (57), it’s easy to see they’re bound to decline since no team is going to have three of its starters average 57 shots out of 83.

He also brings up the fact that Miami has tended to play a very “slow-down” game under Riley over the past decade, and posits this will add to Miami probably taking far less shots overall than even Phoenix did.

That sounds reasonable. In fact, that sounds damn intelligent.

Too bad it’s anything but.

First, it’s a given that teams over the past couple of decades have really begun to bring down the number of shots they’re taking, and that Miami has been one of the teams under Riley’s tutelage that have been masters of this “slow the game to a crawl” strategy in order to make it easier to win games with a less talented team.

However, anyone who thinks Riley (and by proxy, Eric Spoelstra) will be employing this kind of play with the talent they have on the South Beach Superteam is simply one of two things; completely and utterly ignorant, or out of their cotton-pickin’ mind.

Riley built this team to mirror the “Showtime” Lakers he coached during the 80s, and has his sights set on having this “dynasty” challenge the dominance of the Boston Celtics of the 60s.

I’m sure Riley is astute enough a basketball historian to know the reason those Celtics teams were so damn dominant, and his Lakers teams almost equally so, was because they ran the other teams out of the building.

I won’t get into all the statistics about this in this article, as I’m saving that for a “Crunching the Numbers” piece I’m working on that will be posted in the next week or two, but let’s just say that the Boston Celtics of the 60s, and to a lesser degree the Los Angeles Lakers of the 80s, were some run-and-gun teams that would make the Phoenix Suns (even during the Mike D’Antoni era) look like they were stuck in mud.

Riley knows that if you have the talent, you run the opposing team to death. I’m of the opinion we’re going to see this Miami Heat team average closer to a hundred shots a game, if not more. They’re going to redefine the NBA, so to speak.

Or better yet, you could say they’re going to bring the NBA back to its roots.

The “Three Kings” have already done that to some degree just by teaming up, recognizing that the “team” concept is the way to go, and not the recent “me” emphasis that’s been placed on the game by many of its players.

Chris Bosh is the perfect post player for this kind of team, and with the many passes for open looks he’s going to be receiving from LeBron, Wade, Chalmers, and Miller, I’m here to predict his numbers don’t decline, but actually go up a tick.

I could easily see Bosh average 25 points and 12 rebounds next year.

One thing the author of the article I’ve mentioned did correctly predict is Bosh being an All-Star Starter this coming year.

Even with that, though, he basically implied it won’t be because he’s deserving of it. My belief is that is sheer nonsense. Not only will Chris be an All-Star Starter, he’ll deserve it twice as much as any other power forward in the Eastern Conference not named Kevin Garnett, and will be far better than KG in my view.

So, while those who want to can look upon Bosh as nothing more than a “decent” player who’s riding the coattails of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to a title and acclaim, I say he’s going to be an absolutely essential element in the Heat’s success, and will play like the “Superstar” he is for Miami.

Of course, that might have more to do with the fact I eat, breathe, and sleep Miami sports, and the Miami Heat in particular, than it does with how great my memory is.

Nah, truth be told, I’ve got a very good memory. Might wanna remember that, haters!

Anyway, the night in question was November 5, 2008. It was a game between the Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers at AmericaAirlines Arena, and was just the fourth game of Mario Chalmers career.

Yet, that game forever changed the perception Miami Heat fans had of Mario Chalmers. From that moment on, he had “potential.”

Coming out of college Almario Vernard “Mario” Chalmers wasn’t seen as some potential savior of the Miami franchise. That designation belonged to the Heat’s first-round, second-overall pick Michael Beasley out of Kansas State.

In fact, Miami didn’t even draft Chalmers, instead acquiring him from the Minnesota Timberwolves, who had drafted him with their thirty-fourth pick, for two 2009 second-round picks and cash considerations. November 5 would change people’s view of “Mario” instantly.

In that game he was stellar on defense, setting a Miami Heat franchise record recording 9 steals in a 106-83 win for the Heat over the 76ers.

His nine steals also tied him with Quinn Buckner of the Milwaukee Bucks for the second-most steals by a rookie in NBA history, behind only Ron Harper who recorded 10 during the 1986-87 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Chalmers overall game during that Miami win was rather impressive as well. Along with his nine steals he recorded six points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out six assists while only turning the ball over two times.

There was incredible debate at that time whether or not the Miami Heat or the Chicago Bulls had gotten the better player in the draft.

The Bulls had gotten a lucky bounce in the lottery and were able to take Derrick Rose first overall ahead of the Heat (who had the worst record in the NBA the year prior, and therefore the greatest chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick) who “wound up with Beasley”.

After the November 5 win for the Heat over the Sixers, some in the media, however, began to whisper, “Did the Heat actually get the best point guard coming out of this draft after all?”

Now, granted there have been two full seasons that have taken place since then and now, but as much as many are going to call me absolutely insane, I still wonder about that.

Certainly, Derrick Rose seems a more gifted athlete. He’s got a better handle than Chalmers to a degree, and far more confidence.

Some of that is because of his talent, and some of it, in my view, is simply situational. Rose was thrust into the position he’s in, and thrived in it. He’s the go-to guy for the Bulls, and has reveled in the role.

Chalmers never had that opportunity, and probably wouldn’t have actually excelled as much as Rose has in it. He’s just not a “score-first” player. If he had been, he would have averaged far more even in college than he did.

However, I still believe the question is legitimate. Did the Miami Heat get the best “point guard” coming out of that draft?

Again, I know many will laugh at the idea.

However, while Rose may end up being a more prolific scorer than Chalmers will ever be, while Rose may end up with “better” stats, I believe there’s still a chance, especially given Chalmers opportunity now of playing on possibly the greatest team ever assembled, to show he can be the better “true point guard”.

And truth be told, Rose may not end up with better stats than Chalmers when their careers are over. How many players just like Rose have we seen come and go? Steve Francis? Starbury?

There’s a distinct possibility that Rose ends up on the trashheap of “talented” wannabes, for he’s certainly done nothing so far to be deserving of some “great” mantle in the NBA.

So, laugh if you will, but the conversation five to ten years from now might not be who was a better point guard, but how anyone could have thought Rose was even close.