The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Miami Heat 105-94 in Game 1 while Bosh scored 10 points to go with five rebounds in 34 minutes off the bench.

Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday it’s more important that Bosh be put in positions to be aggressive than whether he’s on the court when the game starts. And Bosh is simply amused by all the interest his status is getting.

“I didn’t know it was such a big deal, the starting thing. I just thought people were happy to see me out there,” Bosh joked.

via ESPN.com

The Heat didn’t exactly miss Bosh as a starter in Game 1 since they jumped out to an early lead thanks to good floor spacing with their small lineup.

Bosh could still start with the Heat remaining small if he replaces Udonis Haslem as the starting center which would allow Shane Battier to continue starting.

The Heat are going to need more from Bosh to beat the Thunder in this series whether he starts or comes off the bench.

Spoelstra announced an hour before Game 1 that Bosh would be coming off the bench and he will likely make the announcement around the same time before Game 2 which tips at 9 p.m. EST on ABC tonight.

“Everybody keeps talking about how loud it is,” Bosh told CBS Sports. “It’s regular. We’ve been in a lot of other arenas and it’s about the same. Once it gets really loud, it’s all about the same.”

This is obviously not true. The Thunder clearly have the best crowd in the NBA and is probably the loudest too. This is a dig from Bosh who is certainly going to hear it from the Thunder crowd in Game 2.

Bosh didn’t start Game 1 as the Heat decided to stay small with Shane Battier in the starting lineup instead. It actually worked pretty well as the Heat ended up with a lot of open looks from three which they capitalized on.

The fact remains though that the Heat need a lot more from Bosh to beat the Thunder. That probably means he needs to start whether it’s for Battier or Udonis Haslem.

Erik Spoelstra didn’t reveal if Bosh was starting or not until an hour before the tip of Game 1 and will likely do the same for Game 2 which is Thursday night at 9 p.m. on ABC.