Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
The next Bosh?
Cal’s Ivan Rabb hopes draft lifts him to the Heat.
MIAMI — While much of the focus with Chris Bosh has been on replacing his salarycap space, the upcoming NBA draft could also offer a possible replacement for some of what Bosh had delivered to the Miami Heat before being sidelined by blood clots.
Cal power forward Ivan Rabb said at the Chicago draft combine that he has spent his career attempting to emulate Bosh’s game, with an appreciation for the Heat’s culture.
Rabb elected to return to Cal for his sophomore season after being projected as a possible lottery pick in 2016. He now is being mentioned in the Heat’s range of the draft, provided the Heat do not move up from their No. 14 seed during Tuesday’s draft lottery, with only a 1.8 percent chance of such a shift.
“I’ve been hearing Miami a lot,” Rabb said during his media session at the combine, where his appearance was limited to medical testing and drilling due to his projected first-round status. “I know Pat Riley is known for having great teams, putting young guys together and finding ways to win. So I think that culture over there is huge. So if I’m around those guys every day and they have that mindset, I can’t do anything but excel.”
Bosh missed the second half of both the 2014-15 and ‘15-16 seasons due to blood clots, before missing all of this past season following a failed preseason physical. The Heat are expected to clear his salary from their cap prior to this summer’s free agency, with the All-Star forward still to receive the full payout from the two seasons remaining on his contract.
Rabb said the four players he has attempted to emulate are Bosh, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and LaMarcus Aldridge.
“They all have similar builds,” he said.
“They rebound. They can shoot the ball. And they win games.”
Rabb said Bosh comparisons are natural.
“I feel like we have a similar like mid-range package, go-to moves, the same kind of build,” he said, measuring at 6 feet 10 and 219 pounds at the combine, compared to Bosh’s listed 6-11, 235. “He uses both hands around the basket. I think he does a good job rebounding when he really wants to go get ‘em. And I just like his game. That’s somebody I watched a lot.”
Like Bosh, Rabb said he takes a cerebral approach to the game. He said that could help stretch his game to the 3-point line, as Bosh did during his Heat championship tenure.
“I think because I work and I learn so quick, I think that won’t be a problem at all,” he said. “If a team needs me to do that, I’m going to work on that every day and I’m going to shoot with confidence.”
But he said the initial plan is to play to his strengths.
“I feel like I’ve honed everything inside the 3-point line and I’m shooting the corner threes really well,” he said. “So, I feel like I’m on the right track. But I’m not in a rush to get out there. It’s not my game yet. I’m trying to master what I have first.”
Rabb said detractors have overlooked something during his second college season that could make him more seasoned for his NBA arrival.
“I think people don’t know that I got better this past year,” he said. “I felt like my situation — I was doubled every game, so it was hard for me to really show what I can do. Now, when I get in a setting where I’m not being doubled, especially my rookie year, whatever, I get to showcase my game. I’m just ready to do that.”
Several Heat players attended the UCLA-Cal game when the team was in Los Angeles in January, with guards Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson both coming away impressed with Rabb’s effort.
“I think I became much more polished, more patient, more mature with the ball in my hands,” Rabb said. “I got better defensively in pick-and-roll situations. I think I just handled adversity well while I was there.”