What Chris Bosh's Injury Means for the Boston Celtics

In case you hadn't heard, it was announced today that Chris Bosh will be out indefinitely after straining an abdominal muscle in the first half of Miami Heat's Game 1 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Bosh injured himself while throwing down a dunk.

Now, "indefinitely" can mean a lot of things. It could mean that Bosh could be back sometime during the series against Indiana, or it could mean that he could miss this entire series plus the Eastern Conference Finals (should Miami get there).

No disrespect to the Pacers or the Philadelphia 76ers, and I do not want to get too far ahead of myself, but I think pretty much everyone expects that the next round will consist of a matchup between the Heat and the Boston Celtics. The question is, will Bosh be a part of that matchup? Also, if he is, how effective will he be?

So, what does Bosh's injury mean for the Celtics? I'll give several ways it effects the boys in green.

1) It means that Boston cannot mess around with Philadelphia. It has to finish this series, fast. By that, I mean that if the C's have a chance to close out the 76ers like they had a chance to close out the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 in the first round, they have to do it. The quicker they knock off Philadelphia, the less time it allows for Bosh to heal. Of course, eliminating the Sixers swiftly also comes with the added benefit of giving Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Avery Bradley time to rest their nagging injuries.

2) It means that Kevin Garnett is going to absolutely have his way in a potential matchup against Miami. I think Garnett would get his against Bosh anyway, as K.G.'s physicality gives Bosh a tough time as is. However, without Bosh in the lineup, that gives the Heat one less defender to throw at Garnett and it gives Garnett some freedom to roam defensively.

With Bosh in the lineup, his good jump shot forces K.G. to stick with him and doesn't allow Garnett to provide too much help on LeBron James or Dwyane Wade when they drive the lane. Take Bosh out of the equation, however, and it essentially sets Garnett loose. Udonis Haslem can knock down jumpers here and there, but he is not near the threat that Bosh is in that regard.

Also, not having Bosh might force Erik Spoelstra to put James on Garnett, and that will likely turn out bad for the Heat for two reasons:

1) Regardless of how good of a defender James is, he cannot cover K.G. in the post over the course of an entire game. He might be able to hang with him for a couple of plays, but after a while, Garnett's length will end up giving LeBron fits, as he will be able to shoot over the top of the MVP effortlessly.

2) If you put James on K.G., then who covers Pierce?

3) Finally, it means that the Celtics can focus on taking away one of James or Wade. Usually with Miami, you cannot do that, as Bosh represents an obviously outstanding third option. However, with him off the floor or not fully healthy, that changes things entirely. In that case, if you shut down LeBron or Wade, you are basically cutting off half of the Heat's offense. Yes, Mario Chalmers can score, but with Rajon Rondo on him, it is going to be very difficult for him to get any clean looks, and let's face it; I highly doubt Boston is too worried about Chalmers to begin with.

This puts a ton of pressure on bench players such as Shane Battier and Mike Miller to step in and perform, and if the regular season was any indication, they haven't shown that they can do that with any kind of regularity. This is where Miami's severe lack of depth can end up coming back to bite them.

I understand there are still a lot of things we don't know. For one thing, although it is probable, we don't even know for sure if Boston and the Heat are even going to end up in the Eastern Conference Finals. Secondly, we are not sure how long Bosh is going to be out for. Then, even if Bosh returns sometime in the next round, how effective will he be? Abdominal strains can be absolutely debilitating, so even if Bosh comes back, you have to wonder how much mobility he will actually have.

As if the 2012 NBA Playoffs weren't interesting enough, they just took another intriguing turn. An unfortunate one, but certainly an intriguing one.