Chris Bosh is mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore. The Miami Heat forward said Thursday he plans to go on the offensive when the NBA resumes on Christmas day.
"I've been working on confrontation this summer," he said after a workout with some of his teammates at the American Airlines Arena. "I'm serious."
Besides an offseason weight-lifting program that added some bulk to his 6'11" frame, Bosh has vowed to take his critics head-on and no longer allow himself to be the Heat's punching bag.
LeBron James gets a majority of the criticism hurled at the Miami Heat, but no one on the team is the butt of as many jokes as Bosh. He's been nicknamed "Bosh Spice" and was the reason Scottie Pippen renamed the Big Three "Two and a Half Men" last season.
Bosh will not allow himself to be a punchline this year. He said last season the barbs thrown his way "got to the point where I couldn't even watch TV. And I like watching TV."
Bosh says he is partly responsible for the ridicule. "I kind of let that happen a little bit by not being as aggressive as I could be."
But Bosh is not going to be a bully, per se. When a reporter said the word "mean" while asking a question, Bosh corrected him. "Not mean," he said, "just putting all your cards on the table."
"I'm more comfortable with myself," he continued. "If you're not confident in yourself, if you don't believe you're the best out there, then nobody else will."
The weight-lifting program is aimed at counteracting accusations that he is soft. So is his new-found desire to spend more time at the center position. "I accept the challenge," he said. "If I'm the five, put me down there, have me guard the biggest guy. That's fine."
Chris Bosh's mindset will likely not be the deciding factor in the Heat's quest for an NBA title in 2012. Even so, Heat fans will at least be relieved if Bosh's aggressive streak means they will not have to spend so much time defending him this season.
Bosh will get his first chance to display is new, tougher approach on December 18, when the Heat host the Orlando Magic in a preseason matchup. The team announced a home-and-home preseason series Friday morning, with the Heat visiting Orlando on the 21st.
