1
NEW ORLEANS — The video campaign didn't do it. Chris Bosh's well-known, self-made YouTube video, where he made like a Texas used car salesman and appealed for votes, didn't quite get it done.
But the Toroto Raptors' captain was an Eastern Conference all-star for the third time because he was added by the coaches rather being voted in by the fans.
Things have a way of happening. The video earned him a lot of attention, if not votes, but in the end, Bosh was there Sunday night, introduced as a starter to the vibrant sounds of the Rebirth Jazz Band rocking out on a corner set dressed up to look like a slice of the French Quarter not too far away.
He was there because he earned it, in a roundabout way. With Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett unable to play because of an abdominal strain, it was up to East head coach Doc Rivers to choose his replacement, and it didn't take him long.
Chris Bosh of the Eastern Conference goes to the basket in the first half of the 57th NBA All-Star Game. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Related Articles
Related Information
Shortly into the team's first meeting on Friday, he gave Bosh the news and explained why before the game Sunday night.
“I don't think he gets the attention that he probably should get, you know?” Rivers said. “It just seems like all the other young guys, when you mention the Wades and the Carmelos and them, you barely hear Bosh's name with them, and it should be with them. He deserves this.”
He earned it by being himself, even as the public's understanding – even his teammates' and peers' understanding – of him has changed in the past few weeks. His clever video campaign – there are now others up online – show a lighthearted, even goofy side that the serious-minded professional doesn't often reveal.
“I'm just trying to brand myself off the court,” Bosh said recently. “I think right now when you think of me, you think of more of a basketball player and that's it. My life is a lot more than that. I'm just trying to show depth, I guess, or show people that I have different parts of me that they've never seen.”
But it's the part of his game they see all the time that is impressing his opponents and peers.
His scoring average of 22.5 points a game allows him to join Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas and Amare Stoudemire of Phoenix as the only power forwards in the top 10 in scoring. He's on his way to leading his team to the playoff for the second consecutive season and he's doing it in a manner that those who play the game appreciate.
“He has what we call a face-up game, where he opens up and faces the basket, very quick, very agile,” said Garnett, who will be back in action this week for the Celtics based on some strong workouts in New Orleans. “He's the man up there. No doubt about it. [But] I like the way he conducts himself, man. He's real mild-mannered, but there's a little beast in there. He comes out and plays hard every night.”
It's Garnett to whom Bosh is compared most often, a considerable compliment because Garnett is the leading candidate to earn his second career most valuable player award this season. In a poll conducted by a reporter, Garnett was voted the player in the NBA his peers would most like to see earn a championship if not themselves, perhaps the ultimate sign of respect.
“He's mentioned the most to play like Kevin and they are similar,” Rivers said. “They both have a developed post game and they still like scoring from the elbows, they block shots. There are a lot of similarities.”
Funny enough, Bosh was still the one who didn't quite belong during the introductions. With his veteran and more spotlight-savvy fellow all-stars managing little shimmies and shakes for the crowd, Bosh opted for a simple touch to his heart.
But he was happy to be there.
“I'm excited, man,” he said when he found out he was starting. “I appreciated Doc for the opportunity. Things happen in crazy ways, I'm just happy.”
For Bosh, it's another chance to demonstrate to a slow-to-learn general public that he's in a small club of elite young players.
He did it Sunday night in the early going. Surrounded by bigger names in Jason Kidd, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Bosh simply ran the floor and finished, giving this particular team what it needed, even though he got the chance by giving the Raptors so much more so often.
But Bosh knows where he stands.
“Besides me? Dwight [Howard], Amare [Stoudemire],” he said when asked about whom he considers his peers among the game's young big men.
“I know I'm not a power player, I know I don't dunk every ball, I know I don't finish at the rim all the time, but I do get the job done.”
