Never Back Down
When push came to shove, No. 1 was always up to the challenge. Against those very same Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, he scored 30 and 34 respectively in Game One and Three, leading the Heat to a 2-1 series advantage; he knocked down the series-clinching free throws in Game 5 too, as Miami rallied to advance to its first NBA Finals since 2006.
Most will remember the unexplainable collapse of James during that series, in which he was thoroughly outshined by Dirk Nowitzki and Wade. It was Bosh who was the second-most effective player for a Heat team that seemed overwhelmed by Dallas’s ball movement and 3-point shooting.
Bosh’s emotional reaction following their Game 6 loss said it all. Many people laughed at him, and it infuriated me. How would anyone feel if their life dream is within their grasp, then suddenly taken away by a team Miami was arguably better than?
The criticism would carry itself over into the next season, even as Bosh provided many memorable moments for Heat fans all over the world. The nation finally came to a sense of realization when the Dallas native was sidelined for a large portion of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, as Miami eventually found themselves trailing the underdog Boston Celtics 3-2 in the Conference Finals.
A memorable playoff run by James filled out the majority of the cake mix, but it was Bosh’s timeliness that provided the icing. His 19-point performance off the bench in Game 7 reinforced just that, as he knocked down 8-of-10 shots and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, helping propel Miami to a second consecutive Finals appearance.
A 24-point outing in Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder was only second to James’s 26-point triple double, leading to the first of two times Bosh would find himself soaked in champaign in the depths of the Heat locker room. Watching him speak at the podium felt vindicating not only for him, but for myself as well.
By the time 2013 came around, I felt all the naysayers would be put to rest. Boy, was I wrong.