You know the NBA’s in the midst of one of its most important seasons in the last two decades when a 24/7 NFL guy like Jason Whitlock is writing about Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat in November. Most of what has been written about the Heat in the first three weeks of the season amounts to, “so, when is Pat Riley taking over?” Whitlock has decided instead to sharpen his focus on Chris Bosh, who has yet to prove – hey, it’s early – that he’s the right man for the job in the low post.

Chris Bosh is too soft to be the third wheel of the “Big Three” … Does Bosh have any Dennis Rodman, Horace Grant or Charles Oakley in his 6-foot-11, 235-pound frame?

Is Bosh a homeless man’s Dirk Nowitzki, a perimeter big man who put up inflated scoring and rebounding numbers because when visiting NBA players cross the Canadian border they put far more effort into acquiring condoms, one-dollar bills and a strip-club champagne room than their on-court assignments?

Bosh is averaging a pedestrian 14 points and five rebounds a game, a far cry from the 24-10 he posted last year in Toronto. And he’s not an enforcer. He’s not an intimidating defender. He doesn’t rebound with passion. Is he going to cut it in the postseason if the Heat have to face Joakim Noah, then Kevin Garnett, then Dwight Howard?

Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao and Houston’s Luis Scola should be at the top of Riley’s wish list.

Not a bad place to start. The Magic would never do it, but Marcin Gortat is only playing 20 minutes a night in Orlando, and he’d be an ideal fit at center for Miami. He’d know his role: Defense and rebounding.

With all the criticism heaped on Bosh, it’s almost a given that he’ll have his best game of the young season tonight vs. Al Jefferson, and follow that with a double-double Thursday in a rematch against KG.