The Last Stand for the Boston Celtics?
This coming Saturday night has the potential to be a defining moment for the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics and the NBA itself. The Heat of course are up 2-0 in their best of seven showdown with the Celtics, and Game 3 on the Celtics home floor could well be the game that clinches things for Miami.
But more than that, this game could officially signal a changing of the guard in the NBA. While the Heat were favored by many to win the series, it was expected to be a dog fight – one that was likely to go seven games.
But based on what we’ve seen from this Celtics team, they don’t look capable of competing with the Heat. The Celtics look old, tired, slow, soft and physically not even on the same planet as the red hot Heat.
Miami on the other hand looks like they’ve discovered a championship gear a year ahead of schedule. Based on ‘the way things work’ in the NBA, the Heat for most of the season appeared to be a team that would eventually be great, but one that still lacked the parts, chemistry and collective team building experience to win it all this season.
Instead it looks like they’ve figured things out. Yes, they lack depth, but you solve that by playing your 3 studs maximum minutes and shortening your rotation. Would there be Alpha Dog problems at the end of tight games? Looks like they’ve got that one answered too – run things through Dwayne Wade, and have LeBron be a devastating 2nd option with his ability to wreak havoc since you can’t double team both of these guys at the same time.
Think a team with 2 of the 5 best players in the league and a 3rd who’s a perennial all star might have trouble committing to playing defense? Have you watched these guys in action? They’ve become a top level defensive team.
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