Chris Bosh shows why he’s a matchup nightmare

Chris Bosh can’t merely return to the level he showed back with the Toronto Raptors. For the Miami Heat to be a threat in the East, he has to be better. He must combine the lessons he learned in his four years with LeBron James with the raw tools that made him successful early in his career with the Toronto Raptors

He has to evolve and devolve at the same time. Good luck.

But Heat fans have to be glowing after watching him rip an admittedly shorthanded Wizards team in Miami’s 107-95 season-opening win. Bosh was already too skilled in the post for smaller defenders, too quick for slower ones and too accurate from the perimeter for traditional big men.

Now, he’s all that empowered in a Heat setup that actually requires him to use his many gifts. Because Bosh is forced to do it all, we get to see all the ways he becomes a matchup problem.

We knew his ability to shoot from the perimeter made the Heat’s style work, and that remains true even without LeBron. Relax for a second, as Drew Gooden did on this staggered pick and roll with Norris Cole and Chris Andersen, and Bosh is sticking a top-of-the-key three.

We also know this shooting makes Bosh the ICE-buster. ICE refers to when teams force the ball-handler on side pick and rolls to go to the baseline, limiting their options. But when a great shooter like Bosh is the big man, the shot the defense is willing to give up with this strategy actually becomes a serious threat. Thus, it confuses what should be a coherent strategy.

Consider this play in the fourth quarter. The Wizards force Mario Chalmers to the sideline, using Bosh’s man, Kris Humphries, to eventually trap him in the corner. This is standard side pick and roll defense for most NBA teams.

This style of defense works because there aren’t many teams that have big men with as much range as Bosh setting this screen. The best most bigs can do is try to reset the play or swing it to the other side. But because Bosh is a good three-point shooter and a huge threat to put it on the floor and score, the Wizards start scrambling.

And thus, you get a 3 on 2 situation. Rasual Butler picks up the diving Andersen, leaving poor Kevin Seraphin to run at Bosh. (This should be reversed, but again, this is the panic Bosh causes). James Ennis is wide open on the opposite side and eventually attacks the gap for a layup.

All this was true with LeBron as a teammate. The difference now is that Bosh is getting his inside and mid-post touches back and has free rein to attack with a spaced floor that stretches help defenders far too wide thanks to Erik Spoelstra’s insistence on using lots of perimeter shooting.

Last season, Bosh averaged just 5.3 elbow and 31.9 “frontcourt” touches per game, according to SportVU data. Many of those “frontcourt” touches were off passes from LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. On Wednesday, Bosh had a whopping 13 elbow touches and 50 frontcourt ones. Only Marc Gasol, who practically lives at the elbow, matched Bosh’s number through the first two nights of the NBA season.

It’s in the mid-post where Bosh is especially good. Teams are reluctant to let him drive to the middle of the floor with his strong left hand, but they also need to crowd him to prevent the jumper. Thus, the baseline is often left open, and Bosh is looking to attack. Poor Humphries doesn’t have a chance here.

Here’s the same scenario, except with Seraphin guarding Bosh. Petrified about letting Bosh drive to his right, Humphries comes over to cut off the baseline. But Bosh is so skilled that he’s able to jab right, swing back to his left and induce one of the zillion fouls he’ll surely draw in this spot all season.

And let’s say you prevent Bosh from driving in either direction. In that case, he can just pull up and do this.

Wednesday’s game was a firm reminder that Bosh is a triple threat from the mid-post area and has exactly the kind of team that allows him to thrive in that spot. As long as the Heat play small, he’ll always have plenty of space once he beats his primary defender.

With the ability to drive right, drive left or shoot in his bag of tricks, Bosh has all the tools to carry Miami’s offense for an entire season. He always had that ability, but now we finally get to see it in action.