Bosh Is Now Ready For Camp

Heat forward Chris Bosh insists food tasted better this summer.

The abdominal injury that nearly ended his season — and probably would have doomed Miami’s title chances — is behind him now, Bosh said.

But when things looked most bleak, when the Heat lost two straight games to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals after he got hurt, Bosh was preparing himself for a long offseason without a championship to savor.

After missing about three weeks — the typical recovery time for an injury like his is often twice that long — Bosh returned for the East finals against Boston.

He made a huge 3-pointer in Game 7 as part of a 19-point effort to help beat the Celtics, then averaged 14.6 points against Oklahoma City as the Heat beat the Thunder in five games for the NBA championship.

He’s beginning his 10th NBA season, as are fellow Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Their ballyhooed decision to team up in Miami in the summer of 2010 led to countless adjustments to everyone, especially Bosh, who went from being the top option in Toronto to the perceived third-wheel with the Heat.

Wade and James routinely referred to Bosh last season as Miami’s “most important player,” and the reasons why they say that were on display when the Heat struggled in the playoffs while Bosh dealt with the abdominal injury.

Game 7 against Boston was a classic for the Heat, a game where for 13 minutes — a 46-possession span — of the second half, neither team led by more than two points.

Bosh changed that for good when he made his career-best third 3-pointer of the night and sparked the burst that pushed Miami to what became a 101-88 win.

“Winning a championship is only the beginning for this group, and we have to look at it that way,” Bosh said.