Miami Heat: Why The Heat Look Better Without Chris Bosh

Even though the Miami Heat have looked better without Chris Bosh as of late, their recent tear has almost nothing to do with his absence

It’s certainly the easier conclusion to draw – that the Miami Heat are better without Chris Bosh. But it’s also the lazy one, too.

Not to mention that it’s completely false.

Yes, the Miami Heat have played better after the NBA All-Star break. They’ve won three out of their four games, and would be undefeated if it had not been for Stephen Curry‘s and Klay Thompson‘s heroics Wednesday night.

The only real constant for casual fans is that Chris Bosh has been out of the lineup. While that’s true, he almost has nothing to do with why the Heat have been playing this well as of late. I say almost because the only thing that his absence has done is that it’s forced Heat coach Eric Spoelstra to adjust his gameplay and rotation. And it’s worked beautifully.

More from Sir Charles In Charge

• LeBron James working to assemble super team for USA Basketball in 2024
• Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
• NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
• Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
• Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?

Losing Bosh has forced Spo to play small ball more often. In fact, if I had to put a number, roughly 60-70 percent of his lineups only consist of one true big – either Hassan Whiteside, Josh McRoberts or Amar’e Stoudemire.

The rare occasions in which Spo elects to play McRoberts and Whiteside are fine, because the former plays more like a point guard than he does a power forward.

But, above all, perhaps the Heat’s recent play has to be credited to Goran Dragic. Now that the Heat are playing at a higher pace and averaging more possessions per game, Dragic has been given the keys to the offense – Dwyane Wade missing the first two games out of the break – against the Hawks and Wizards – probably had a little to do with that too.

But since Wade’s return, he’s still be able to co-exist with a more aggressive Dragic, something that we rarely saw when there were two bigs roaming the paint.

You also can’t deny how well Luol Deng has played at the power forward position, which has arguably been his best role throughout this season – even with Bosh. Some of the Heat’s best lineups before Bosh’s injury came with Deng playing the 4, next to Bosh or Whiteside at the 5. And that makes sense, since Deng is really closer to the new power forwards of today’s NBA than he is to the sharpshooting wings.

In the four games since the All-Star break, Deng has four double-doubles – he’s averaging 21.5 points and 12 rebounds on 47 percent shooting from the field. Now that Bosh is injured, Deng has become a bigger part of the team’s offense and he’s proving that he can – too – be relied on.

Perhaps the biggest reason why the Miami Heat – almost – haven’t missed a beat since Bosh went down with an injury? A different Hassan Whiteside has emerged from the All-Star break.

Prior to his recent tear, the last time we saw Whiteside, he was being thrown out of a game because he threw an elbow at Boban Marjanovic. He’s been a different player since.

And not just because he’s averaging 21.7, 18 rebounds, 3.3 blocks on 63 percent shooting OFF THE BENCH for the Heat. He’s also putting together things that you can’t find on the stat sheet together.

His screening, which was often criticized much this season, has been astronomically better.

This was what a screen from Whiteside looked like before the All-Star break:

More often than not, Whiteside would just put his body momentarily in fort of the defender, slicing to the basket in order to receive the pass. His screens almost gave the ball-handler zero additional room, which kind of off-sets the point of the screen-and-roll.

Now, however, Whiteside is taking his time and not just rushing towards the basket. In a way, he’s trusting his teammates more.

It’s almost as if Whiteside had an epiphany at the All-Star break. If he did, it’s working. To say Whiteside has been dominant since his return from suspension would be an understatement.

The combination of Dragic being more aggressive and co-existing with Dwayne Wade on the court, Deng getting more and more comfortable – while excelling – at the power forward possession and Whiteside being an absolute monster off the bench, the Miami Heat have almost stumbled into how this flawed roster can work.

Even though Bosh continues to decide whether he’ll attempt to play again this season or not, credit has to be given to Spoelstra. When the Heat could’ve packed it in with the Bosh news, they didn’t. In fact, you can make the case that they’ve been better – almost accidentally.

The Miami Heat are 32-25 and still have much work to do in hopes of securing homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but they’re off to a great start post-All Star Break.

Next: Predicting How The Eastern Conference Playoff Picture Will Settle

I’m not going to say that Chris Bosh’s injury has been a blessing in disguise, because that’s a cop out. But I will say that his injury has forced Eric Spoelstra, Goran Dragic, Luol Deng and Hassan Whiteside all be better at their jobs.

And, much like the Miami Heat, have excelled thus far.