It's no secret that Miami Heat center Chris Bosh has struggled against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. In six games, he is averaging 11 points and 4 rebounds per game, down from his regular season averages of 17 and 7.
In advance of Monday's Game 7, Bosh said he apologized to his teammates for his performance thus far in the series and promised to reverse his fortunes against the Pacers.
"I apologized to my teammates, and I won't have to do it anymore after tonight," Bosh told The Palm Beach Post Monday.
"I changed my game in Games 1 through 6, and it hasn't really worked," he said. "So I just need to do what I do, and let it all hang out."
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Bosh characterized his struggles as "just not being aggressive and not playing my basketball." He declined to place any blame on Erik Spoelstra and the Heat coaching staff.
"There's nothing really that coaches can do to free me," he said. "It's just really myself. I just have to go out there and play basketball."
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Bosh is not the only member of the Heat who is struggling. Dwyane Wade has hit just 11 of 34 shots from the field in the past three games, while Ray Allen and Shane Battier are shooting below their averages from 3-point range.
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Indeed, only LeBron James can say that he has played up to expectations against the Pacers.
But Bosh said he and his teammates remain upbeat despite the fact that they face elimination for the first time in the 2013 playoffs, comparing the feeling to the one the Heat faced in last year's conference finals against the Boston Celtics. "Everybody’s excited. You don’t have these opportunities too often."
"We've just got to go out there and play," Bosh said.
