The value of Chris Bosh often gets lost for the Miami Heat with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade receiving so much more attention.

Erik Spoelstra has often emphasized how critical Bosh's role is to the Heat.

"One night when LeBron was out, he scored 37 against Portland," said one unnamed Western Conference scout. "He looked like the same guy he was in Toronto, except he's become a better shooter. He's really worked at it. He can really shoot the ball from 17, 18 feet. I think people working in the league recognize how valuable he is to that team, but to the public, it'll always be about LeBron and Dwyane Wade. It always will be and that's fine. But they might be able to advance further without Wade than if they were without Bosh. Without Bosh, they don't win the East. They just wouldn't be big enough. As good as LeBron is, they wouldn't have any post presence at all. Bosh is really their second guy behind LeBron now because of Wade's injuries. Everybody around the league knows it."