Peachtree Hoops: Defending Chris Bosh

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More photos » Lynne Sladky - AP

Chill

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Yes, I want to defend Chris Bosh, and not because I believe Al Horford owns him every time they play. What? Hey, you know.

This is the already well-discussed sounder he gave after his huge pie in the face of all the folks that have been clowning him over the past couple of weeks. This is Bosh discussing the last couple of days of practice.

"We got back to getting after it again.  I guess he felt he was loosening up just a little bit too much.  He knows he needs to meet us halfway.  He wants to work, we want to chill.  We’re going to have to work in order to get everything down.  To get the timing down, to get our chemistry down"

Excuse me if I don't find the controversy here. Let me see: Coaches want to work all the time and the players want to relax more. 

This is a surprise?

That's why there are coaches, period. If players were all self-motivated, why bother with coaches in the NBA? It's a talent league that needs savvy coaches to help manage personalities, get teams focused on items that players may not know on their own (advance scouting), do some Xs and Os, etc.

Can anyone really be surprised by Bosh's "revelation"? Would you be surprised if anyone on the Hawks said the same thing? Josh Smith? Joe Johnson? If Al Horford admitted this, would you collapse? I wouldn't.

I still want to chill, and would even more if I had millions. I'm supposed to get indignant because Chris Bosh tells the truth?

It's not even an Allen Iverson-style rant about the virtues of practice. Read the entire quote again. Bosh knows that they have to work harder to get everything down, he gets that. Just because he's stating that players like to chill and that the coach is wired up about working doesn't mean he's against it, he realizes what needs to be done and gives credit to that work "getting back after it" for that evening's performance.

Yes Bosh took a ton of money and hopped on the LeBandwagon, and maybe was guilty of posing as an uber-star when he isn't on the same level with Wade and James, but he has been the scapegoat for the Heat's struggles early on and is the early choice for the fall guy should they not get to where they are supposed to go this season.

But let's give criticism where it's due, and making an honest statement while giving credit for the hard work his coach and his team went through to get a win isn't where it's due.

Everyone needs to chill.

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