When a grown man cries in professional sports, it's usually met with words like "passion" and "desire."
But for Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh, those words don't quite fit the bill. Perhaps "underachiever" or "scared" would be more accurate.
While LeBron James has shouldered the brunt of the criticism for the Heat's NBA Finals loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, it's the smallest part of the Big Three that's getting the ultimate pass.
And unlike countless passes directed his way in the fourth quarters and crucial moments of the Finals, Bosh isn't fumbling this one away.
By our count, Bosh's bawling has been witnessed by teammates or cameras at least three times this season. That matches the number of 30-point games he had all regular season.
Maybe Heat fans should ask Bosh to cry a river if that will increase his point output.
It's hard for a star be considered shrinking, when he rarely shows up at all. That's likely why Bosh isn't getting skewered by the media or critics.
In the NBA Finals, Bosh played to his averages of 18 points a game and around 7 rebounds, but it was his play in crunch time that will define his season and his label as the "half-star" in the Miami basketball trinity.
It seemed like every time the ball headed Bosh's way, he invoked his mutant ability of turning his hands to stone. And as the turnovers mounted, Heat leads disappeared, much like Bosh's confidence.
Sports
A nationwide audience could see it in his eyes. So could the Mavericks. Bosh wanted no part of the moment and if he did manage to hold on to the rock, he treated it like a hot potato and quickly found a teammate instead of making a play like a perennial All Star should.
When Bosh wasn't fumbling the ball away, he was falling asleep on defense, allowing Mavs penetrators to get to the rim at will or letting Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki drive for a game-winning bucket.
True, Bosh did hit a game-winning shot of his own in Game 3, but one moment doesn't erase the fact he did not step up when it mattered consistently.
Much like his tears won't wash away the stain of an NBA Finals loss.
