Miami Heat forward LeBron James finds additional load due to Chris Bosh’s absence “taxing” – NBA Playoffs Update
LeBron James has revealed that playing power forward in place of the injured Chris Bosh against the Indiana Pacers has not been a great experience so far. The Miami Heat super star revealed how filling in for Bosh was a tough job during a recent interview.
Miami Heat won the first game against the Indiana Pacers but lost out in the second match of the Eastern Conference playoffs tie. As Chris Bosh was absent because of an abdominal strain, it was left for James to play at his position and go up against players
bigger and stronger than him.
LeBron did not particularly enjoy it.
"It's a lot more taxing being in there with bigger guys," James said, according to the Miami Herald.
James is physically one of the most dominant players in the NBA, but if pitted against bigger guys he too can feel the effects of the grind. The player didn’t really have much trouble on offense, but on defence the job of boxing out Indiana’s big guys took
a lot out of him.
James said that defence "is the biggest difference. When you're on the perimeter, there's more space. The interior is more cramped and physical."
Miami have a shortage of effective big men, something that has haunted them all season long. The franchise tried to address the problem by signing a number of free agent centres but none seem to work out.
In game-2 against Indiana, the Heat used Ronny Turiaf, Joel Anthony and Udonis Haslem at the centre and power forward position but they were largely ineffective, combining for a mere seven points and 12 rebounds.
What that meant was that LeBron had to be on the court for as long as possible, and the player wasn’t able to get much rest in between. He has now played over 40 minutes in both of the first two games and the NBA’s Most Valuable Player admitted fatigue could
be an issue.
"Forty minutes in the playoffs is different than 40 minutes in the regular season," James said. "Intensity is raised. The grind is much more intense. Hopefully, I can get a few minutes here and there."
Miami’s head coach Erik Spoelstra though doesn’t have any other options. The coach indicated that his hands were tied, and LeBron could expect to be used extensively, especially in the final 12 minutes.
"There's nothing we can do [about rest for James] in the fourth quarter,"
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