If stars able, ailing Bosh says play on
Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh has been sidelined by a blood clot since the All-Star break in 2016.
When asked by The Associated Press for his perspective on the NBA’s rest-or-play debate, he had a quick response.
“If you can play,” Bosh told the AP, “go out there and play.”
Bosh said he understands the players’ side and the fans’ frustration.
The two NBA Finals representatives last season, Golden State and Cleveland, have elected to rest their superstars — Stephen Curry and LeBron James, among others — in recent nationally televised games.
“I can see it in some instances,” Bosh said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But then at the same time, if you can play, play. When there’s so much work to do, it’s kind of hard to see why guys would take time off. With that said, from a player’s side, the schedule is intense. But I guess that’s part of being in the NBA. And I think what happened was when young guys start saying ‘Oh, rest,’ that kind of brought it to a tipping point a little bit.”
He’s not on the court, but he has stayed around the league. Bosh has worked with Turner Sports over the past month working on their “Players Only” Monday night broadcasts.
“They have a very candid bunch of guys, champions, guys who have made their names in their own ways in so many different generations in the league,” Bosh said. “Being in there with Chris Webber and Isiah Thomas, Kevin Garnett, a big-brother type guy in Baron Davis, it’s cool. It has been therapeutic because you don’t realize how much you miss that locker-room aspect until you’re away from it.”
Bosh remains under contract with the Miami Heat, though the team is likely to begin a process of waiving him and getting salarycap relief from the final two years of his deal. He’ll be owed about $52.1 million for 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, money he is guaranteed to receive but dollars that may not count against the Heat books.