By Rich Levine
CSNNE.com
WALTHAMSometime over the course of this season, Miamis Big 3 morphed into the Big 2. Sure, they were still the Big 3 by name, but it became obvious to everyone in the league that Chris Bosh just wasnt at the same level as his more accomplished superstar teammates.
As the Heat struggled out of the gate, Bosh suffered publicly for his inability to live up to those lofty expectations, until at one point, everyone just stopped expecting him to be LeBron or Wade. The bar was lowered. And Chris Bosh was just allowed to be Chris Bosh.
Now, according to the Celtics, the other one might be the key to this second-round series.
Hes one of the key guys, Doc Rivers said. LeBron and Wade are LeBron and Wade. They were great before the series. Theyre going to be great after the series. LeBron and Wade are great players.
But when Bosh plays great then their team is great. He stretches the floor and theyve done a better job in the second half of getting him more involved. Hes part of their offense now. When hes played well, theyve won. When hes struggled theyve lost. Hes such a tough guy to guard.
Wade echoed similar sentiments about Bosh to reporters following the Heat's practice on Friday.
Boston Celtics
"He is an X-factor," Wade said. "A lot of our key wins, he's been a huge part of it."
Kevin Garnetts the guy whose responsibility it is to guard Bosh.
First off just knowing he can score in different ways, you just like to keep a couple different options away from him, Garnett said. I think for Baby and myself and all the guys who played Amare Stoudemire in the first round, it was sort of a good series to warm us up for (Boshs) play. He can score in different ways and they get the ball to him, so we have our work cut out for us.
When Bosh plays well, they blow teams out. Its not even close.
Rich Levine can be reached at rlevine@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Rich on Twitter at http:twitter.comrlevine33.