2011 NBA Playoffs: Positive Notes from Boston Celtics Game 1 Loss to Miami Heat

Despite the fact that the Celtics lost Game 1 to the Heat 99-90 and the Heat looked dominant at times, it wasn't that bad.

Losing Game 1 isn't the ideal way to start the series, but is there reason for panic? Can the Celtics beat this Heat team?

Personally, I don't see any reason for panic; under the circumstances, I think the Celtics played well to make the game competitive down the stretch.

Considering the fact that the captain of the Celtics, Paul Pierce, was ejected from the game in the fourth quarter, it was impressive that the Celtics were still able to rally back without him. Often times after the leader of your team is ejected, especially when it is an unjust ejection like in Pierce's case, teams crumble or give up.

The Celtics did neither of these and continued fighting. Had Pierce stayed in the game, it no doubt would have been a closer game. 

Considering the fact that the Celtics allowed Dwyane Wade to take over the game and score 38 points on 14-of-21 shooting, it is impressive that this game was even a contest.

One of the keys to beating this team is to not let Wade or LeBron James take over the game and scored over 30 points. They allowed Wade to far surpass the 30-point margin and score on the Celtics defense seemingly at will.

If they held Wade to under 30 points, the game would have been won by the Celtics. 

Considering the fact that the Celtics allowed James Jones off of the Heat's bench to score 25 points and hit five (open) threes, it was impressive they were able to stay in the game. Another key to the series was not allowing other players on the Heat besides LeBron and Wade to become heroes, James Jones was a hero for the Heat today.

Had the Celtics properly closed out on his shots, or not let him get open in the first place, there is no way he would have had this performance. And if he does not come in and play like he did, the Celtics win this game.

Considering the fact that the Celtics' biggest advantage, Rajon Rondo, was only able to score eight points and had five turnovers, it is impressive that the Celtics were able to keep up with the Heat. Rondo is the one player in this series that has a serious advantage over his opponents (Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers).

Well, he did all but exploit that advantage in this game. Trying too hard to score and early foul trouble plagued him early, and he was never able to recover. If he was at all able to exploit that matchup or was more careful with the ball, the Celtics would have won.

Considering the fact that the power forwards Kevin Garnett and Glen Davis off of the bench were only able to score a combined 10 points on five-of-14 shooting, the Celtics were lucky to be in this one. Davis is usually counted on for around 10 points off of the bench, while Garnett is counted on for close to 20.

Neither was able to come close to that and that contributed to some of the offensive struggles. If Big Baby and the Big Ticket could produce close to the way they are expected to, the Celtics would have won.

So all in all, it was tough to lose Game 1, especially when not much seemed to go Boston's way throughout the game.

But I see this as no indication of things to come in this series.

I just don't see Paul Pierce getting ejected again. I don't see the Celtics allowing Wade to score 38 points again. I don't see the Celtics allowing James Jones to come off the bench and get open looks for three en route to 25 points again. I don't see Rajon Rondo playing as poorly as he did today again. And I don't see Glen Davis and Kevin Garnett only able to produce 10 points of combined scoring again.

The stars lined up for the Heat in this victory, if one of those things swings Boston's way, they would have won Game 1.

The Celtics proved they can play with the Heat, despite the challenges they faced along the way. If they can eliminate some of the aforementioned issues, the Heat will have a hard time beating them.