Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics – Watch out for the C’s
When the Boston Celtics acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen a few years ago, the world sat up to take notice. Boston already had an All-Star player in the form of
the phenomenal Paul Pierce and together the trio formed one of the most formidable combination in the league aka “Boston Three Party” or the Big Three of Boston.
Boston’s fortunes soared immediately. In the very first regular season together the Big-3 propelled the Celts to a fantastic run. They then proceeded to win the Eastern
Conference Finals in post season and then followed it by a 6 game win over the Los Angeles Lakers to take the NBA crown. They achieved it all in their first season together. Since then Boston has been the team to beat in the East. In the very next season,
the beasts of the East reached yet another NBA final, only to be outclassed by the Lakers in a gruelling seven game series.
This pre-season, Boston Celtics dominance in the East came under a threat as another powerful trio gathered on the shores of the South Beach. At the start of the
season, the Miami Heat signed Chris Bosh and LeBron James, arguably the best player in the league. Together with Dwyane Wade, they formed the new Big Three of Miami.
With a star studded roster, the Heat have marched ferociously throughout the season and are set to make a deep run in the playoffs. However, standing in their way
are the big boys of the league, the Boston Celtics, and they are in no mood to stand aside.
Six months ago, when the media erupted in Miami, they watched silently from a distance, but deep inside they knew that they would have a task at their hands, come
the playoff time. Boston coach Doc Rivers said the Celtics knew this day would come, "We assumed, when they put this team together, at some point that if we wanted to put another banner up that we were probably going to have to go through them,"
Now it has come. The dream duel has finally arrived; the world is watching and the players are raring to go.
Celtics dominated their regular season series, winning it 3-1. The first two games were early in the season and Boston showed Miami’s Big Three that they wouldn’t
have a walk in the park come post season. The third game went the distance but the Celts still won. However, in their last matchup the Heat struck back with a blow out 100-77 win.
So how do the Celtics intend to deal with the Heat? One word, Defence. Everything else comes 2nd for Boston and this is one facet of the game that has
been their forte. They play hard and defend like their lives depend on it, just by habit. Where they really take teams apart is by preparing for every player on their roster, studying their plays and adjusting their own game in order to stifle the opposition.
Preparation is all important. And the Celtics have had a lot of time to prepare. They did not finish their series against the New York Knicks in 4 games by accident.
The Celtics knew they were on course to face Miami. The sweep against the Knicks, who had Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire on their team, was a message for the Miami Heat; we know how to deal with your superstars.
The Celtics play the game hard and Dwayne Wade has struggled against them throughout the regular season. Garnett has proved time and time again that he is a bit too
hot to handle for Chris Bosh as well. The major problem for the Celtics will be LeBron James. Such is the depth in the game of the two times reigning MVP that the C’s could struggle to mark him. But, they have a few aces up their sleeves as well. Paul Pierce
is a standout player. Rajon Rondo will look to take on Mike Bibby all the time and Bibby simply hasn’t got the goods to match the live-wire Celtic point guard. Ray Allen can always be relied upon, especially from downtown.
Shaquille O’Neal, if back from injury, could prove to be yet another trump card. Zydrunas Ilgauskas will have tough time dealing with him and with O’Neal in the line-up
the Heat players will think twice before driving down the lane. He has played with both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James and could be a decisive factor with his experience and insight.
With little to separate between the starters, the series could come down to strength of the fringe players and the Celtics with Shaquille, Jermaine O’Neal, Glen Davis
and Nenad Krstic will be confident of winning that battle. The Celtics’ experience in big game situations, their mental strength and togetherness add another dominant dimension to their game.
So, when the series starts, the Celtics will play it hard. They will leave no gap un-shored, no man unmarked and will go all out to take down the men from the South
Beach. It will take a herculean effort to put them down.
Miami beware.
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