Chris Bosh turned injury into motivation during the 2012 playoffs to propel Miami's 'Big 3' dynasty.
Chris Bosh looks on in front of Miami Heat crowd at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Like many times before, a sea of Miami Heat fans rained cheers down on Chris Bosh. In this moment, he didn’t see the applause, nor could he catch his teammates’ fist pumps, or even the camera zooming closer to his head as it leaned against the second “M” of “Miami” stamped along the baseline.
It was Game 1 of the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals, Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat.
Seconds before the ovation, Bosh set a high ball screen for teammate LeBron James with 1:11 remaining in the 2nd quarter. With the Heat trailing by nine, James drove toward the basket, drew help and kicked out to Bosh. He pumped, made Pacers big man Roy Hibbert commit, slipped into the lane and soared toward the basket.
Bosh’s slam counted, an and-1 on Hibbert, but something was off. As teammate Mike Miller jogged over to ask, “You good? You good?” Bosh felt the twinge in his body.
Diagnosed with an abdominal strain, Bosh would miss the rest of the Eastern Conference semifinals because of the injury.
Bosh, who will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, was under the spotlight early in his career. The former Toronto Raptors centerpiece was subject to criticism. Some believed, sure, he was a star. But he didn’t have what it took to get out of the first round on his own. Then came “The Decision” in 2010 with he, James and Dwyane Wade joining forces in Miami.
Along with it followed the “Bosh Spice” jabs on ESPN’s “First Take,” the Twitter trolls, the endless internet memes and the basketball world opining on how he’d always play third fiddle. Add this serious injury in a critical playoff run and Bosh wasn’t going to catch a break from the public.
What came next was a back-and-forth hypothesis of what the Heat could or could not accomplish without Bosh, the versatile missing piece to Miami’s “Big 3.” A media circus ensued and his health status was a daily headline.
History shows Miami ousted Indiana in six games, but for Bosh, the story was much more complex than that.
After the Pacers series, he talked with then-ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh:
“I watch the team now like I’m on the outside looking in,” Bosh said. “You become disconnected.”
“It is weird and very, very difficult,” Bosh said. “I realize how disconnected I’ve been and have to be. Since I’ve been hurt, it’s OK, well, they’re on the road, they’re in shootaround, they’re practicing. And I have to rehab. It’s a hell of a process.”
“I’m an easy target,” Bosh said. “I’m not as boisterous and flamboyant as other players. I don’t jump as high and I’m not as fast as Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. I don’t have many highlight plays, but I can play this game.”
“I’ve always known I’ve been a very good basketball player,” Bosh says. “I never needed reassurance from any outside group to know that. I don’t regret it all, because that’s who I am. I’m an easy target. If people don’t like it, I don’t really care. People can say what they want, but it’s helped me develop thick skin. I really don’t care anymore.”
“I’m just hoping there’s a chance that I get back,” Bosh said. “All I think about is when I’m back out there, because it’s going to happen.”
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