Three Reasons Why Boston Will Fold To Orlando In Second Round

1. Dwight Howard Will Attract Extra Defenders Inside

Nobody on the Celtics' roster is tall, big or even strong enough to compete with Dwight Howard inside. Nobody will be able to front Howard well enough in order to prevent him from catching the ball down low. Kendrick Perkins can try, but we all know any big the Celtics can throw at Howard is a mismatch in Howard's favor. Not to mention Perkins tends to rack up fouls like there's no tomorrow which has a negative effect on the team considering the fact that he is Boston's best post defender.

So what happens when Howard receives all that attention in the post? Spot-up three-point shooters are waiting for the ball on the perimeter, and that's Orlando's game in a nutshell. Go ahead and double-team Dwight Howard, because Orlando's shooting specialists will make you pay for leaving them wide open.

For the Celtics, it's basically about the lesser of two evils: would you rather stick man-to-man on Howard defensively, or try to fluster him with multiple defenders leaving Orlando's shooters with great looks from the arc?

2. Fatigue Starts Setting In For The Truth

"This was probably the most mentally tough series I've been through. I haven't took it this hard in a while in a playoff series."

Credit that quote to the Celtics' go-to guy on the offensive end, Paul Pierce. Even though Pierce claimed that the Celtics-Bulls' seven-game, first round showdown was mentally exhausting, earlier he said that he is not physically tired and that he's good to go against Orlando in the second round.

C'mon, Paul... let's be real. Your nickname is "The Truth," not "The Lie." Four of the seven games played in Boston's first round confrontation with Chicago went to multiple overtimes. Seven overtimes were played overall, that's 35 additional minutes of basketball.

Pierce was on the floor for 311 minutes of the series, more than any other player on the Celtics' active roster.

3. Rajon Rondo Is Guarding a Point Guard Who Can Actually Shoot

Even though Derrick Rose won me over as one of my favorite players to watch and could become a top five point guard by the end of next season, the man's outside shooting needs a lot of work. Anything fired up outside of 15 feet for Rose literally has a 15% chance of going in the hoop.

Unfortunately for Boston, Rajon Rondo won't be guarding the same type of point guard in the second round. Rafer Alston is a former New York City streetballer turned current NBA starting point guard, and he's no rookie, either. Alston has been around the block and his experience is the main quality that stimulated interest from Orlando Magic General Manager Otis Smith at the trade deadline.

Alston is a capable three-point shooter and has done a good job regulating his turnovers the past couple of years. If Boston leaves him open in pick-and-roll game with Howard, Alston won't hesitate in burying the mid-range jumper, also.