Celtics vs. Heat: Miami Must Dispose of Boston to Reaffirm Superiority

The Celtics are playing well lately, and that improved play was punctuated on April 1 when Boston made fools of the Heat, drilling them 91-72.

In tonight's rematch, the Heat must defeat Boston to reestablish the pecking order in the Eastern Conference.

Quietly, the Celtics have risen to fourth in the East, and they are only a game-and-a-half behind the Indiana Pacers for the third spot. It is feasible that they could catch Indiana.

If the Heat remain at the No. 2 spot, the Celtics could be their second-round opponent in the NBA playoffs. That is looking ahead, but one would think that the Celtics should beat the drama-filled Orlando Magic in their opening series, and the Heat should best the Knicks.

There will still be some late jostling to finalize the playoff pairings, but as of today, those opponents would be ahead for the Heat and Celtics.

If Miami allows the Celtics to take two games from them in a matter of 10 days, it will further invigorate the veteran C's.

After last year's postseason victory, the Heat moved past Boston and delivered the first yank on the C's closing window. As this season has progressed through injuries and trade talk, the Celtics have persevered and now find themselves viable contenders.

Miami figures to have one serious challenger atop the East already in the Chicago Bulls. There isn't room for a third team. However, if the Celtics knock off the Heat in Miami, they would be right to consider themselves amongst the East's elite.

At best for Miami, a loss in tonight's game would take a major toll on them heading into what is destined to be a war with Chicago to decide the East.

Again, these are projections, but this is the way the East is likely to unfold. It has long been thought of as a two-team race, with Chicago, Miami and then everyone else. The Heat must take care of the Celtics tonight to take a step towards reestablishing that thinking. If they lose, there will be serious and valid questions about who the conference's top dogs really are.