NBA Playoffs 2012: Biggest X-Factors in Final Matchup of Heat vs. Celtics

For the Heat and the Celtics, it all comes down to Saturday night.

One team will either fulfill its prophecy and represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year, or the other will complete the impossible by crushing Goliath on the road and advancing to its third Finals since 2008 with an ailing veteran team and no bench.

After the way LeBron James single-handedly destroyed Boston in Game 6, we saw that one player can indeed alter the outcome of an entire series. Here are the most important players in Saturday night's critical Game 7 matchup. 

Paul Pierce

We all saw what happened when Pierce let LeBron shoot 73 percent from the field in Game 6: his team was toast from the fourth minute on. Granted, no one wants to be the person charged with containing the most dangerous player in the NBA, but Pierce managed to do it to a degree in Games 2 through 5. Now would be a great time for the most stellar defensive performance of his career.

Pierce is the captain of this team, and he needs to be excellent on both ends of the floor in order for the Celtics to be able to win on the road in Game 7. He's a veteran who's been here many times in the past, so the pressure isn't going to be an issue with him—but he needs to be the one who sets the tone on Saturday and prevent things from spiraling out of control early on, like they did in Game 6.

First and foremost, that means keeping LeBron under wraps.

Pierce is one of the best big-game players in Celtics history. That version needs to show up in South Beach on Saturday, rather than the one who shot 4-for-18 with nine points on Thursday.

Chris Bosh

The Celtics aren't a huge team, nor are they particularly athletic. They're old and, according to popular belief, they're tired. Bosh gives the Heat the length and the athleticism they were missing for the first four games of this series, and despite the fact that his minutes have been limited since returning from an abdominal strain in Game 5, he needs to make his presence known every minute he's on the court.

In his first two games back from injury, Bosh has tallied a total of 16 points, 13 rebounds and one assist. They're certainly not stellar numbers, but he did have one stat that was: three blocks in Game 6. Even if he can't contribute offensively, he needs to continue to be a huge presence on the defensive end for the Heat if they want to hold the Celtics at bay. 

Rajon Rondo

When Rondo plays like the best point guard in the NBA, the Celtics win. In Games 5 and 6, he didn't. In Game 5, the Celtics got away with a win despite a night in which Rondo shot 3-for-15 from the field for seven points with five turnovers. In Game 6, they weren't so lucky.

Rondo committed seven turnovers on Thursday night, the most he's committed throughout the course of this series. As a result, the entire team looked sloppy and frustrated, and the Heat made them pay with their transition offense. Limiting the turnovers will be key to keeping this game close, especially in the first half.  

LeBron James

Obviously. If LeBron has another 45-point performance like he did on Thursday night, the Celtics have no shot. He was so unstoppable on Thursday, he barely needed anyone else on the court with him.

LeBron was so good, in fact, that it was easy not to notice how ineffective the rest of Miami's roster really was. That makes LeBron's Game 7 performance even more crucial. If Dwyane Wade and Bosh are subdued again on Saturday, it's all up to LeBron. 

Two 45-point performances in a row is far too much to expect, even from LeBron. If he can shoot the ball anywhere near as well as he did on Thursday, though, the Celtics are in serious trouble. They have no one who comes close to him in terms of talent, and he exploited that on Thursday, when he proved that he can win a big game with the season on the line.

But that wasn't the real test. Saturday is.