Miami Heat: How Do the Boston Celtics Match Up?
With NBA teams starting to come together and prepare for the upcoming campaign, the major story line gripping the basketball landscape is just how good will the new look Miami Heat be?
While their lineup is loaded with talented players and three of the league's biggest stars, basketball games are not won on paper and the Heat must establish chemistry in order to succeed this season.
That being said, the Boston Celtics are still the reigning Eastern Conference champions and were mere minutes away from their second NBA title in three years last season. The Celtics were also the team that dispatched both Wade's Heat and LeBron's Cavaliers during their run to the finals.
Basketball all comes down to the individual matchups. If a team can lock down one or two key players, their chances of winning are exponentially higher. Less talented teams that can exploit weaknesses can often pull off upsets. Faster teams can run down slower teams, and teams with massive frontcourts can slow the game down and win in the paint.
Much of the Celtics' success during the playoffs came from their depth and ability to exploit matchups. Rondo was too fast for just about every opponent, few teams had the defensive depth to guard both Allen and Pierce, and Glen "Big Baby" Davis had the ideal combination of size and athletic ability to score key bench points.
Now for a position-by-position look at what the Celtics and Heat will be throwing at each other this season.
Point Guard
While the Heat's starting point guard spot is still up for grabs there is no questioning the fact that whoever they start will have their hands full with Rajon Rondo. Rondo is one of the NBA's brightest young stars and could very easily be the brightest star on a roster loaded with star power this season. Rondo looked incredible against the Heat in the 2010 playoffs and there is no reason to believe that this year they will have anyone capable of handling his quickness and ball handling around the rim.
Advantage
Celtics in a landslide. Look for Rondo to be the key player in all matchups.
Shooting Guard
Dwyane Wade is still top dog in Miami and possesses quickness and shooting ability that are unprecedented in the NBA. As part of the NBA's unquestionable top three players with LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, stopping Wade has always been top priority for the Celtics in the past. While this task is doubly as daunting with the addition of LeBron to the lineup, there is only one ball on the court.
For the Celtics the main objective will be to limit possessions and second-chance points for the Heat. Any game in which LeBron and Wade combine for a similar number of points to what Wade could go off for at any time last year (around 50 points in many contests) is considered a victory for this Celtics team.
The Celtics' answer to Wade is the aging Ray Allen who hopefully will put his shooting woes from the 2010 finals behind him and fit nicely into his role as the fourth best player, but most important shooter on this Celtics team.
Advantage
Heat by a good margin, but do not discount the effect sharing the ball with LeBron could potentially have on his point production.
Small Forward
The small forward matchup pits two of the best small forwards in the league against each other in Paul Pierce and LeBron James. This matchup has played out before with LeBron as a member of the Cavaliers and has often been more even than expected.
Pierce can sacrifice offense for defense when he sets his mind to it and as the 2010 playoffs showed, something about these Celtics seems to take a little bit of the edge off LeBron's game. LeBron is still undoubtedly the better athlete and more talented basketball player, but Pierce has proven to be the better winner and that makes this matchup much closer than it is often construed to be. LeBron will also be facing media scrutiny, sharing the ball with Wade, and playing outside of Ohio for the first time in his career.
Advantage
Heat, but this one is much closer than expected. LeBron is a great player but so is Pierce and with help from his teammates and the outside factors weighing on LeBron's shoulders this one could become dead even.
Power Forward
The battle at power forward is between the least valuable of Miami's new big three and the aging leader of Boston's old big three. Kevin Garnett against Chris Bosh will be one of the matchups that can severely turn the tide in favor of the Heat in games against the Celtics.
Bosh is the biggest wild card in the Heat's season, as going from head honcho in Toronto to a distant third in Miami could come as a culture shock once the recognition and adulation starts really pouring in for LeBron and Wade. If Bosh's attitude issues in Toronto resurface in Miami look for Garnett to capitalize on any weaknesses. If however Bosh embraces his place as a role player and plays efficient basketball, he could be the difference between the two teams in a seven-game series.
Advantage
Heat. Garnett is just too old to dominate games anymore, but he could draw this one dead even using veteran guile and experience over the immature and overrated Bosh.
Center
This battle is the biggest wild card on the court, but also represents the least important aspect of the game. The Heat have some serviceable options in Haslem and Ilgauskas. The Celtics have Kendrick Perkins once he recovers from knee surgery, a past-his-prime Shaq, and Jermaine O'Neal. As far as talent goes the edge goes to the Celtics, especially once Perkins is healthy, but (especially on the Heat) the center will be receiving about as many touches per game as anyone reading this column.
Advantage
Celtics. This could turn into a huge advantage for the Celtics if Garnett can draw Bosh to the perimeter and allow Perkins or Shaq to dominate the paint.
Bench
While neither team has a stellar bench due to the star power and salaries of their starting fives, many games are nonetheless won and lost by the bench regardless of how good the starting lineup is.
For Boston Glen Davis and Nate Robinson represent the strong points of the bench and have both proved in the past that they can contribute down the stretch in big games.
The Heat's bench consists mostly of older players chasing that elusive ring and younger, cheaper options whose contracts helped to facilitate signing Wade, LeBron, and Bosh. Eddie House could be a contributor as could Carlos Arroyo but at the moment their bench looks to be one of the league's weakest.
Advantage
Celtics, this could be one of the keys to their games this season as Nate Robinson's skill set is similar to Rondo's and allows for 48 minutes of pure speed at the point guard position while Glen Davis looked dominant for runs during the 2010 playoffs.
Coaching
Doc River's has a title and experience with a team that has been to two out of the last three NBA finals. Erik Spoelstra is one of the NBA's least recognizable names.
Advantage
Unless Pat Riley returns to the bench this season, the Celtics dominate the coaching category.
Overall Advantage
As crazy as it sounds right now the Boston Celtics are in as good a position as anyone to take on the Miami Heat. The Heat have no answer for Rondo and the Celtics are one of the few teams in the NBA that can compete with the heat at all five positions. Bonus points are thrown in for advantages coming off the bench and on the coaching staff, which elevate the Celtics to either equal or raised standing above the Heat.
The fact is that if the Celtics would have been the NBA's best team last year if the center position was eliminated. The Lakers big men were the only reason the Celtics walked away from the season empty handed and even with the best frontcourt in basketball it still took every minute of seven games and an injury to Kendrick Perkins for them to claim the title.
Without a quality center the Heat will not be able to dominate the Celtics like they can teams with shallower starting fives. In a seven-game series between these two teams it would come down to Game 7 and rest solely on the shoulders of Rajon Rondo, a man with a knack for coming up big.
