Celtics Continue to Get Disrespected Despite Tying Series

I woke up this morning, the morning after the Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat in a 93-91 thriller in Game 4 to even the Eastern Conference Finals at two games apiece, expecting to read and hear about what the Celtics have done to turn this series around and whether or not there was growing confidence that they could actually beat the Heat.

How silly of me.

No matter what website I went to, all I read about was how LeBron James and Dwyane Wade blew it and how Miami still has no clue what to do on final possessions. Then, I turned on ESPN First Take, hoping to get something from Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless about Boston and how impressive it was in taking Games 3 and 4 after falling into a 2-0 hole in the series. The same thing happened.

Instead of giving the C's credit for shutting down Wade for the second consecutive game, all everyone could do was question Wade's game and how he pulled a disappearing act in Games 3 and 4 at TD Garden. Instead of giving the Celtics their due for playing tremendous defense on James in the final play of regulation, everyone questioned James' decision to pass to Udonis Haslem rather than take the ball to the basket.

It's as if everyone thinks Boston didn't win these past two games; Miami just lost them, and it's absolutely sickening.

As a matter of fact, Smith, who I largely respect as an analyst, actually said that the Heat are obviously watching what's going on in the Western Conference Finals on off days. Wait; so, in other words, Miami is watching the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs to see who they are going to meet in the finals?

Are you kidding me?

Let's face the facts, guys. This series is tied 2-2, and the Celtics are showing no signs of slowing down. You could even argue that they could be up 3-1 right now. I hate doing that type of thing, but it's the truth.

So, why are we talking about the Heat's shortcomings instead of praising the job Boston has done against them, particularly defensively?

I think Doc Rivers' game plan is obvious. Let James get whatever he wants, and shut down Wade and Miami's role players. That plan worked to a tee in Games 3 and 4, as the C's frustrated Wade into 16-of-42 shooting in those contests. That is why Wade is struggling. It's not because he's not giving it his all or because he's not showing up.

It's because Boston is bottling him up.

Perhaps the most important thing of note right now for the Celtics, though, is that Ray Allen appears to have rediscovered his stroke. He hit four threes (including one humongous trey in the fourth quarter) in Game 4 and finished with 16 points. Allen has also done an admirable job defensively in these past two contests.

If Allen really is back, then the Heat are in even more trouble than it may seem right now. All postseason long, Boston has been searching for consistent offense. It couldn't find it in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks. It couldn't find it against the Philadelphia 76ers. But now, all of a sudden, Allen has risen from the dead, and, consequently, so has the Celtics' offense as a whole. Allen adds another dimension to the C's, and it makes it that much more difficult for opponents to guard them.

So instead of talking about how poorly Miami has been playing, how James and Wade "blew" game-winning opportunities in regulation and overtime and how the Heat's role players were out of position on the final play of the fourth quarter, let's talk about how Boston has thrown a left hook and then an uppercut at the Heat that has left them unambiguously dazed, and how the Celtics, after being thrown up against the wall after going down 2-0, have countered and now have their foot on Miami's throat.

You would never think the C's have a chance to go up 3-2 in Game 5 in South Beach. You would never think they were two wins away from reaching their third NBA Finals in five seasons.

Then again, in a rather similar situation two years ago against the LeBron-led Cleveland Cavaliers, we heard much of the same.

Obviously, LeBron James is bigger than the Boston Celtics. But not in a good way.