The Miami Heat defeated the Philadelphia 76ers and will now face the Boston Celtics on the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Can Bosh, Wade and James matchup to the Celtics Big Four?
The Miami Heat believes they are ready for what comes next. They also believe that to get to where they want to, and to confirm the team as a true title contender, they have to outplay the Boston Celtics in the Playoffs. It seems that they wouldn’t have it any other way, and most fans would agree. But now this one is for real, this is the big test. Can LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh really outplay the Boston Celtics when it really matters?
It doesn’t look easy. The Celtics took the series by 3-1 this season and on the last game, towards the end of the third quarter, it really seemed as if head coach Doc Rivers let Miami have it. He sat down most of his starters and let the bench take the beating. It wasn’t pretty either. The Celtics were coming off a very upsetting stretch that culminated with a rotund beating by James and Co. But here is the thing, are the Heat’s Big Three going to be able to hold down point guard Rajon Rondo, or are they going to have what it takes to put down clutch-time perfectionist such as Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.
Yes, these are two edges of the competition. While James and Co. are at their prime, perhaps with the clear exception of Rondo, the Celtics is an aging squad. Their best moment might have already passed by, but heck they know exactly what it takes to be in the NBA Finals, and as we know, anything short of that could just be considered a failure. There are high expectations on both ends. Let’s not forget that last season it was the Celtics (pretty much this same crew) who dismissed the Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron James from the Playoffs. So sure, you can count on Wade, Bosh and James wanting to get them back.
But before we go any further with the future matchup, let’s take a quick look at how the Miami Heat managed to dismiss the Philadelphia 76ers on a 4-1 series. On a 97-91 5th game win at home, the Heat was able to hold off the pressure. The 76ers managed to keep on coming from behind, once and again closing in on the gap to hold on to a 1-point difference that gave them hope.
Still it wasn’t enough. On it’s way to the Eastern Conference Semifinals Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, Chris Bosh added 22 points and 11 rebounds, while from the bench Mario Chalmers came to the rescue early in the game when the Pacers where up by 10 in the first quarter. He gave the Heat a huge lift, scoring 11 of the Miami's 16 points off the bench in the first quarter, including three 3-pointers.
James did a lot of talking before the game. But there wasn’t much happening from the big star of South Beach. For when the halftime came, one LeBron James had only three points. That’s a Playoffs’ career low. And that is not good for Miami, because they certainly are not been able to rev up their engines early in the game. As a matter of fact, for the fourth time in five games, Philadelphia had Miami in a double-digit hole in the opening quarter. I don’t think that’s going to fly too well against the Boston Celtics.
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