The battle tested Boston Celtics are poised and prepared for an Eastern Conference Finals match-up with the Miami Heat. The Celtics downed the Sixers on Saturday night in game seven at home and immediately had to turn their attention to the defending conference champions. With no time to sit back and enjoy the hard fought win over Philadelphia, the Celtics had to board a plane following the win for a three hour plane ride South to Miami. Game one of the Eastern Conference Finals tips tonight and so far everyone seems to be going with the Heat in this series.
That's fine. The Heat should be the favorites headed into game one. They posses two of the best players in the game that can take over a series in a split second. They did so in the conference semis against the Indiana Pacers where they combined for 197 points in games four, five and six of a combined team total of 321 points in those final three games. James and Wade can dominate on both ends of the floor and can even make it look easy. However, the injured Chris Bosh has yet to return from an abdominal strain and the Celtics will look to exploit the paint, which Indiana failed to do against the Heat in the conference semis.
The Celtics have indeed been battle tested during this post season. In round one they took down a hungry Hawks team in six and then played seven grueling games against a young Sixers club. Grueling is a bad word when it comes to describing a playoff series for the aging Celtics.
Boston's "Big 3" of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen were formed in the summer of 2007 and in their first season won the 2008 NBA Title. The "Big 3" experiment has been a success and barring a KG injury in 2009 we probably would have witnessed three straight years of Celtics-Lakers Finals. Despite being a successful experiment, the "Big 3" aren't finished yet. They are back, about to begin their third Eastern Conference Finals journey. A team that was written off during the regular season is back on an elite stage and about to take on the dynamic Miami Heat, who are seeking their first title since the formation of their "Big 3" in 2010.
Boston's Case:
The key player for the Celtics headed into tonight's game one bout will be veteran big man Kevin Garnett. Unlike David West and Roy Hibbert for the Pacers; Garnett is a cold blooded assassin who brings maximum effort to the court every night no matter how big or small the stage. The stage will be big tonight and every night in this series. The Celtics will relentlessly attack the interior with Garnett and will probably continue to do so if Bosh returns for the Heat during the series. Garnett will also punish the Heat on the boards. Miami has struggled at times to grab rebounds without Bosh in the playoffs. Boston is a smart well coached club that knows it can gain critical possessions if they can smother Miami on the glass.
Celtics Point Guard Rajon Rondo is of course Boston's other key player. Rondo has three triple-doubles so far this post season and will need to get a few more if the Celtics hope to topple the Heat. Rondo will cause Miami fits on the perimeter because of his ability to attack the basket as well as distribute the ball with ease to big shooters like Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Let's also not forget the ability of Rondo and Garnett to run the "pick and pop." Garnett will get his jumpers in this series and he can knock them down.
Defensively the Celtics are as good as anyone and the same can be said for the Heat. Both teams thrive on the defensive end of the floor forcing turnovers and forcing opponents to settle for bad shots. The Celtics are without back-up guard Avery Bradley, who is out for the rest of the post season because of shoulder surgery. Bradley will be missed on the defensive end because he was the guy that was going to give Dwyane Wade fits. Not having Bradley is bad for Boston, but let's not over-blow the situation. Avery Bradley was not going to be the key factor in beating Miami in this up coming series. His presence would be nice for Ray Allen because he wouldn't have had to guard Wade, but the Celtics can scheme and probably won't leave Allen on an island with Wade very often.
The big match-up to keep an eye on defensively for the Celtics is Paul Pierce vs LeBron James. Pierce will guard James a lot one on one throughout the conference finals. They have met plenty of times before in the playoffs when James was in Cleveland with the Cavaliers. Pierce can hang with James and at times force James to rush an offensive possession or force James to create situations that aren't there. If the role players on Miami's roster can't step in and make shots, then Pierce's defensive effort will eventually raise James' frustration level.
The Heat really need Bosh to return early. The Celtics are too well coached and will take advantage of Miami's inability to get other players involved. There is no doubt that James and Wade are incredible and will give Boston all they can handle on both ends of the floor. The Celtics are hungry now and time is running out on the original "Big 3." They want a second championship and see a good opportunity ahead of them right now. Boston also brings with them a lot of confidence. The Celtics won the regular season series against the Heat 3-1. Look for this series to go seven with the Celtics winning their third conference championship during the "Big 3" era. The defensive game plan Boston will bring to the court will prove to frustrate Miami into submission by the time its all said and done.
Celtics over Heat 4-3.
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