The big story prior to tip-off was that Heat Forward Chris Bosh would be activated, but come off the bench and play limited minutes. Huge news for Miami heading into game five. However, Bosh would only be effective in the first half. Bosh put up 9 points in around 11 minutes of play, but for whatever reason Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra, drastically shortened Bosh's playing time down to about three minutes and change for the entire second half. Bosh was a non-factor in a half where his teammates needed him badly.
Celtics Forward Kevin Garnett would take advantage yet again in Bosh's second half absence and dominate around the hoop, scoring a team high 26 points and grabbing 11 boards; his fourth double-double in the conference finals.
Despite the close game, the Heat looked dysfunctional throughout. Heat Forward LeBron James had another big night with 30 points and his sidekick Dwyane Wade added 27. Respectable numbers from Miami's stars, but no one else showed up. Miami couldn't get any of their role players going and the team seemed lost when Boston amped up their defensive intensity.
The dagger came with under a minute left in the fourth quarter when Celtics lifer and future Hall-of Famer, Paul Pierce nailed a spine crushing three over the out stretched arm of LeBron James. The big shot put Boston up four and sucked the life out of the building.
The Celtics wanted it more last night. They were aggressive all night on offense and defense. They threw Miami off offensively by providing a good mix of zone and man defensive schemes. The term "Celtic Pride" has been used since Boston left Miami after game two. The Celtics showed tremendous pride in their triumphant victory last night.
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In similar fashion to the Western Conference Finals; this series appeared to be over after games one and two. In the West, the Spurs took a 2-0 advantage to Oklahoma City and in the East, the Heat carried a 2-0 lead to Boston. Now, both the Spurs and Heat have found themselves in the same boat, losing three strait games to their conference finals opponent.
With both the Heat and Spurs down 3-2 heading into game six, these next couple of nights could end up providing more then enough discussion for the NBA media to feast on during the offseason.
A lot of the talk this morning obviously is aimed directly at the Miami Heat and rightfully so. However, talk that team President Pat Riley would disband Miami's "big 3" if they lose in the Eastern Conference Finals doesn't make sense. If Riley did make such a move in the offseason, it would be the worst move in league history.
Why would Miami let any one of those guys go? The Heat might want to look into replacing Coach Spoelstra if they fall to the Celtics, but he just signed a new contract last offseason, so that move is doubtful as well.
The Heat can't panic as an organization if the Celtics end up making their third Finals appearance in five years. Instead they need to continue to focus on bringing in guys that can contribute night in and night out. The Heat don't have those guys right now.
Miami should dump a lot of the role players they have currently and maybe keep Forward Udonis Haslem. They could bring in Steve Nash to replace current Point Guard Mario Chalmers and hopefully trade for some healthy young role players. The Mike Miller experiment has to end though; it has to.
Game six of the Eastern Conference Finals is Thursday night. The Heat will be playing in their second playoff elimination game sense the addition of James and Bosh. In last years NBA Finals the Heat crumbled in an elimination game six scenario to the Dallas Mavericks. It will be fascinating to see if and how they respond differently this time around.
Video of Pierce's game clinching three over James in game five of the ECF. (via YouTube via ESPN)
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