It was the first thing I thought of after I watched ‘The Decision’: They’re going to have to play the Celtics. That’s the only fitting scenario in my mind and after getting a taste of it several times during the regular season, in which Boston took the season series 3-1, the two teams will square off for what should be a memorable postseason clash.
On the Boston sideline you find a battle-tested veteran squad that has been to the Promised Land and won a championship before. On the other, a Miami Heat team who has the potential of winning a multitude of championships. A team of superstars, this series will be their first true test as a team.
The Celtics come into the series off a sweep of a depleted New York Knicks squad in which they held the Knicks to under 96 points in each contest. Team defense above all is else is what this team prides itself in most. And it shows. In four games this year during the regular season Boston is holding Dwayne Wade to only 12.8 ppg and Chris Bosh to 15 ppg. Boston knows Lebron James will get his. In those four games this season James has scored 28.8 per contest against the Celtics, slightly above his average this year (26.7). Boston finds a way to shut down D-Wade and Bosh, plain and simple. Both will face a plethora of defenders as Boston likes to rotate a number of big men in to defend the paint and a number of guards/forwards to defend Wade. If those pesky Boston defenders can frustrate these two it could turn out to be a short series.
Miami isn’t the team today though that they were when they opened the season six months ago against the Boston Celtics. 87 games into their season and I think it’s safe to say that they’re playing with some semblance of cohesiveness. The guard play has picked up thanks to the mid-season acquisition of veteran point guard Mike Bibby and with the hopeful addition of power forward Udonis Haslem in the series, Miami just got a little stouter in the frontcourt. That to go along with the Big 3 isn’t a bad combination. They’re playing their best basketball right now and that is all Miami coach Erik Spoelstra could hope for.
Still, it’s going to come down to Miami finishing games off. There is no doubt that this can be a dominant squad when the Big 3 are clicking, but they have struggled with late game situations all season. Do they really have that go to guy? Wade and James are as good as there are in the world but if they can’t finish the Heat will follow suite. On the other hand, Boston has proven time and time again that they can hit the big shot in the final moments. Ray Allen is as clutch as anyone in the final moments of games and Paul Pierce is no slouch himself. This is what may set these two teams apart most. Well, that and Rajon Rondo.
Rondo, for me, is the X-factor in this series. When the offense is running through Rondo’s hands I think Boston is next to impossible to beat. Whether it is in transition or in a half court set Rondo excels at distributing the ball. His court vision may be second to none and when he starts to attack the rim you know Boston is in good shape. His jump shot may never prove to be lethal but when he’s beating defenders off the dribble to the cup, he’s awfully hard to handle. As long as he stays involved in the game and doesn’t get complacent or bored he’s capable of going off for a triple-double every night. I think it’s here where Boston sets itself apart from Miami.
My prediction: In the end, I think Boston is too deep and too experienced for Miami to beat them in this series. If Boston’s defense plays like it should and Rondo is involved, it’s Boston in six.
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