Like Dwyane Wade when asked about LeBron James‘ decision to head back home to Cleveland, Chris Bosh had nothing respect for his former Heatles teammate, telling ESPN, “We’re going to be brothers regardless. There are no bitter feelings, man. It’s all love.” He also said the Heat will compete for a title despite the absence of James.

ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh reports that Bosh is extremely confident in the re-built Heat’s chances to compete for a championship. He even compared his new squad to the team that dethroned his old one.

“I think right now we have the correct infrastructure to compete for a championship,” Bosh said. “We have to get much better at certain positions, and there’s a bunch of things that have to continue to happen. But you know a team like the Spurs, they had a lot of guys that people underestimate, but as a team, they were outstanding. “[There were] very enticing offers,” Bosh said. “There was some surprising advances made in everything, but I ultimately decided to stay in Miami. I think it was the right choice. I benefit from it, the team will benefit from it, from here. My heart was in Miami. I wanted to be there and keep my family there and build relationships and really keep building on something special.” “We’re all making decisions to make ourselves happy and our families happy,” Bosh said of his and James’ decision. “That doesn’t take away what we’ve done together and the special bond that we created and the special bond that we have and just all the memories that we had together. That will never change. As you move forward, you appreciate those moments and keep going forward.” “I think over these few years, Dwyane and I have developed a bond as well,” Bosh said. “I think that’s going to really help us going forward.”

Bosh’s role with the Heat going forward will be far different than what it was from 2010-2014. Though it’s been many years since he functioned as a primary offensive option with the Toronto Raptors, Bosh is looking forward to the challenge of doing so again according to the AP.

“I can’t lie to you: I’m excited. I’m excited for the challenge,” Bosh said during a break from NBA Africa duties. “I want to step up to the challenge. I feel this is a chance to prove to myself and others that I can still do this. “I want to see if I can do what’s necessary to go in there and win every night. That’s the challenge of being a leader. It excites me. It’s been a long time and I feel like I’m a much better player and a leader now, so it’ll be fun.” “We have so much chemistry,” Bosh said. “We’ll just be continuing without LeBron. It’s starting a different chapter. It’s exciting. I think it should be motivation for everybody to step up to the plate. We’re fortunate enough to have some of the same guys. We should be able to say, ‘Hey, we can come out here and compete no matter what happens.'”

Pat Riley turned the disaster of losing James into one less severe by convincing Bosh to stay with the Heat, and did well replacing LeBron – as much as that’s possible, of course – by signing Luol Deng, too. The East is suddenly wide open, and Miami is among a handful of teams with a puncher’s chance of winning it.

Are the Heat more likely conference champions than the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, or even Cleveland Cavaliers? Probably not, but don’t tell that to Bosh. If he Miami live up to Bosh’s bravado, though, it’s certainly possible.

Where do you think of Bosh’s confidence?

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