Not a whole lot gets under the skin of Toronto’s twinkling star Chris Bosh. He’s usually a fun-loving, joke-cracking kind of guy who doesn’t seem to have a problem chuckling at himself or his good friend Bubba, but even the nearly seven-footer has his breaking points; like being compared to Manute Bol.
Chris Bosh has lashed out at a “classless” American broadcaster he feels crossed the line in a personal attack.
Stephen A. Smith, a prominent ESPN analyst known for his loud delivery and over-the-top commentary, compared Bosh to former NBAer Manute Bol on Friday, chastising the Raptor all-star for playing soft and being unable to lead his team to any significant level of success. The comments about the team and the game aren’t what irked Bosh, it was dragging in the name of Bol, a 7-foot-6 beanpole, who was more an oddity than a factor in his career.
“If you have respect for someone, you expect that same respect back,” Bosh said yesterday. “If you’re a classless person like that, I mean, I guess that shows how you are, what kind of person you really are.
“If you criticize basketball, criticize the game, criticize the team but don’t do anything personal.”
But Bosh said he doesn’t need to use Smith’s comments to get him more motivated for the series against the Orlando Magic.
“I don’t have to prove anything to that guy, plain and simple,” said Bosh. “If that’s what he wants to do, that’s what he’s going to do. If that’s what makes him happy, to try to bring other people down, good for him.
“If LeBron (James) wasn’t doing so well, he’d probably dog him, too. If Dwight (Howard) wasn’t averaging 20 and 10, he’d talk bad about him.”
It’s true, S.A.S. probably would be bashing Howard if he wasn’t posting double-doubles like a man possessed. But we wouldn’t recommend it. Heck, even good friend and 6-foot-10, 230-pound freak of nature Bosh wouldn’t recommend getting into a scuffle with the gigantic Howard.
Howard said the two would “wrestle” every now and then but Bosh wants no part of recalling any physical confrontation.
“I wouldn’t say that,” said Bosh. “I might grab him and mess with him, but as soon as he gets for real, I back off. He’s too strong.”
Links:
[TheStar.com]: Bosh takes a shot at ESPN’s Smith