In the midst of this playoff battle where Bosh should be focused on the game and how to stop Dwight Howard, he is more caught up responding to a Stephen A. Smith comment about comparing him to Manute Bol.
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ORLANDO, FLA.–Chris Bosh has lashed out at a "classless" American broadcaster he feels crossed the line in a personal attack.
Stephen A. Smith, a prominent ESPN analyst known for his loud delivery and over-the-top commentary, compared Bosh to former NBAer Manute Bol on Friday, chastising the Raptor all-star for playing soft and being unable to lead his team to any significant level of success. The comments about the team and the game aren't what irked Bosh, it was dragging in the name of Bol, a 7-foot-6 beanpole, who was more an oddity than a factor in his career.
"If you have respect for someone, you expect that same respect back," Bosh said yesterday. "If you're a classless person like that, I mean, I guess that shows how you are, what kind of person you really are.
"If you criticize basketball, criticize the game, criticize the team but don't do anything personal."
But Bosh said he doesn't need to use Smith's comments to get him more motivated for the series against the Orlando Magic.
"I don't have to prove anything to that guy, plain and simple," said Bosh. "If that's what he wants to do, that's what he's going to do. If that's what makes him happy, to try to bring other people down, good for him.
"If LeBron (James) wasn't doing so well, he'd probably dog him, too. If Dwight (Howard) wasn't averaging 20 and 10, he'd talk bad about him."
It's tough to find fault with Bosh's games against Orlando, since he's averaged 33 points a game in the two he played against the Magic this season.
"There will be a lot of different guys probably take a run at Bosh, he's not an easy guy to guard," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said yesterday. "You have to give them as many different looks as you can. He'll see a lot of different things over the course of a series."
Bosh's biggest task is going to be on defence. For at least some of each game, he's going to be matched up against 6-foot-10 Orlando forward Rashard Lewis, a three-point shooting threat who'll make Bosh move away from his defensive comfort zone.
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Sounds like Bosh is already frustrated
. At this point in the playoffs tho you would think that he would be smart enough to ignore comments like these and not let it become a distraction, but i guess he was really offended by the Manute Bol comparison. I dont blame him, but I think Stephen A. was some-what right. I noticed how late in the game today when his team would feed him the ball, he would just dish it right back out instead of taking it to the basket and looking for his shot. He didn't look like he was trying to LEAD his team over the top, but was more or less, deferring to Parker and everybody else and hoping they would step up.
I think that is what Stephen A. was basically referring to by saying he was soft, but it probably just came out as offensive. I wont deny the fact that the dude has some serious skills. He just needs to assert himself more if he wants to be considered a leader and that is what Smith was talking about. I dont know where the Manute Bol comparison came from tho but it is damn funny. Lol, I cant wait for game 2!