Fig Cap: “Seriously, I’m.  That.  Damn.  Good.”

Chris Bosh is a mystery to me, but I hear through the Canadian grapevine that he’s a pretty good basketball player.  Too bad no one really knows.  I mean, unless you’re Canadian.

Obviously, I’m screwing around with you.  A lot of people know who Bosh is, especially us fantasy basketball geeks.  But can you imagine how much more popular he’d be if played in the States?!?!  He would undeniably be a superstar by now with his picture on a cereal box, regular appearances in ESPN commercials, and be in the top five of Charles Barkley’s cell phone list… even Dwyane Wade can’t crack that list!

Okay, okay, since Canada gave us Steve Nash, Michael J. Fox, and Pamela Anderson, we’ll let it go and call it even Stevens.

In any case, Bosh is that “other” guy favorably mentioned from the heralded 2003 NBA Draft after LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and the aforementioned Wade.  In my humble opinion, when you look at all four players’ careers and what they’ve done individually and for their respective teams, I think Bosh is in the right place in the pecking order.  However, thanks to his upward trends and center eligibility in fantasy basketball, he is moving up like George and Weezie Jefferson in the fantasy pecking order, especially if he continues to improve each season as he has been, particulary in the points and rebounding categories.  Check the trends of Bosh’s production the past three seasons:

2004-05: 81 G; 37:12 Min; 47.1 FG%; 0.0 3PTM; 76.0 FT%; 8.9 RPG; 1.9 APG; 2.3 TO; 0.9 SPG; 1.4 BPG; 16.8 PPG
2005-06: 70 G; 39:17 Min; 50.5 FG%; 0.0 3PTM; 81.6 FT%; 9.2 RPG; 2.6 APG; 2.2 TO; 0.7 SPG; 1.1 BPG; 22.5 PPG
2006-07: 69 G; 38:30 Min; 49.6 FG%; 0.2 3PTM; 78.5 FT%; 10.7 RPG; 2.5 APG; 2.6 TO; 0.6 SPG; 1.3 BPG; 22.6 PPG

Hopefully what isn’t a trend-to-be (and to me it takes three years minimum to call anything a solid yearly trend) is the injury bug biting Bosh.  He’s missed 12 and 13 games in the past two seasons, which obviously stinks more than Jabba the Hutt’s fat creases, but again, it’s not a trend… yet.

Regardless, when CB4 is on the floor, the boy goes to work shooting very solid percentages (career 48.5% accuracy from the floor and 77.5% from the charity stripe).  Since he’s become more of a scoring threat down low the past two seasons, his 2.5 dime drops average in that period shows that he is recognizing double teams and getting very comfortable operating in the box.  Bosh’s block numbers aren’t anything spectacular, but a little over a block per game is more than acceptable, especially considering everything else Bosh brings to the proverbial table.

So, despite not hearing enough about the guy unless you’re also into curling, moose, and a big fan of SCTV, Bosh is a great foundation for your team at the center position to build upon.  Canada just doesn’t have good bacon, it has a good Bosh too.

Previous Picks This Round:

1.1. LeBron James, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers
1.2. Kobe Bryant, SG, Los Angeles Lakers
1.3. Shawn Marion, SF/PF, Phoenix Suns
1.4. Kevin Garnett, SF/PF, Minnesota Timberwolves
1.5. Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Dallas Mavericks
1.6. Gilbert Arenas, PG, Washington Wizards
1.7. Steve Nash, PG, Phoenix Suns
1.8. Amare Stoudemire, PF/C, Phoenix Suns
1.9. Dwyane Wade, PG/SG, Miami Heat