NBA Playoffs 2011: Boston Celtics on the Brink Against Miami Heat

Whelp. Here we are.

For the Boston Celtics, the season has featured many ups and downs. 

From the transition of power in the East to the loss of a beloved big man, Boston's entire season has come down to one game. 

Most often, predictions only turn out in precise fashion for the select few, but it is difficult to say that an eventual Celtics-Heat matchup didn't weigh more on the side of assumption. 

Whether you thought the Heat would be leading the series 2-0 in fairly dominant fashion, well, maybe you've got a crystal ball at this point. 

If you've watched these first two contests, you know the Celtics are in trouble. 

The Heat have taken advantage of the obvious gap in athleticism and is playing their best basketball of the year. 

We knew there was the potential for this. 

Miami has taken advantage of all its strong points. The Celtics have struggled to answer the quickness that the Heat bring at both ends and have looked a far cry from the team that battle LA to the bitter end just a year ago. 

I hesitate to put MJ and the uncrowned King in the same sentence but I can't help but compare this series to Jordan's difficulties in conquering the Pistons 20 years ago. Still, maybe it isn't right to. 

It hasn't been LeBron leading this team through the first two games but rather somewhat of a poor man's MJ whose experience of being on the winning end of one of the most infamous collapses in NBA history cannot be overlooked. 

Like it or not, Wade is the winner (now if only LeBron can learn to accept that). 

Thanks to continuously solid performances by the new big three that have accounted for 147 of Miami's 201 points in the first two games, the Heat are in control. 

Meanwhile, the Celtics have gotten just what they wanted. 

Sure, James Jones gave a damaging performance in Game 1, but although playing at their highest level, the Heat haven't brought many new things to the table. 

Miami has managed to thin its most obvious weaknesses—a lack of consistent offensive direction without a defined PG (a gap narrowed by the play of Wade/James), a more-than-questionable interior (shockingly shrunken by a spirited Joel Anthony) and what has consistently been an inconsistent supporting cast (thriving off of energy rather than continuing to be concerned with the stat sheet). 

Still, the Celtics have played more like that rusty team that came into the Garden and barely stole Game 1 than the team exploited New York's weakness at MSG. 

Maybe in stubbornness, I remain unwilling to say that the Celtics are old. Strike that. I remain unwilling to say that the Celtics are too old. 

Attempting to diagnose the real problem with the Celtics seems difficult at this point. 

Did the Celtics suddenly become old in an 80-80 game with 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter of Game 2? 

There are a few things that are certain. 

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett don't have the same bounce in their step as they did a few years ago. The Celtics have become increasingly reliant on their young PG. That young point guard has been influenced by a series of nagging injuries and hasn't been able to play with the consistency that we grew accustomed to a year ago. 

This is not to say, in any way, that the Celtics have lost what it takes to beat a team like Miami (again, MJ vs. Detroit). I have known that the crown would eventually be taken. I have known that the Celtics were increasingly leaning towards borrow time. But not this year. Not yet. 

If the Celtics should fall prematurely (to a host of excuses that I will manage to craft by playoff's end), the proverbial finger will be pointed at one thing and one thing only: The Trade. 

I've mentioned my thoughts on The Trade in previous articles so we will only do a (an attempt at a) quick summary of my thoughts.

Consider the Celtics bench had the move not been made. 

Shaq and JO (both high-risk backups and the down-side of The Trade), Nate Robinson (soon required knee surgery upon being dealt to the Thunder), Marquis Daniels (spinal surgery—out for the year and possibly the rest of his playing days), Delonte West (still working through injuries at the time), Luke Harangody, Semih Erden and Avery Bradley (all far too young to be of any use). 

The Trade allowed the Celtics to acquire a formidable (albeit underachieving) backup to Pierce with Daniels done, multiple “one of these guys has to work out half-decent” centers, and role players (Arroyo, Pavlovic, Murphy) with much more fill-in capabilities in instance of injury than a Luke Harangody. 

Regardless of causing me multiple headaches and marks on the wall due to the heaving of neighboring objects, Green's minutes have been a must for the Celtics championship hopes. 

The bench still didn't mesh together during the Knicks' series and looked similarly incompetent in Game 1 against Miami. However, they cannot be targeted with the blame for Game 2. 

Green is showing shades of whomever that guy was that played for OKC and West may be utilizing a little “word to your moms, I came to drop bombs” kick to drive himself back to his play of a year ago with LeBron in Cleveland. Come on, was there a more perfect time for a House of Pain reference? 

So, in one sense, the trade was necessary. The Celtics would have been suffering from massive depth-deficiency at this point had they not made the move. However, not having Perkins to clog the lanes has proven to be just as damaging. 

Upon hearing of the move that brought confusion and utter devastation to Boston, I made my claim that Shaq would be most important piece of Boston's shot at banner 18.

Of course, this was before JO gave us shades of Indiana JO. Still, JO doesn't have the size to impact the interior like the Diesel. Shaq's size alone prevents easy buckets. 

It is a coincidence that Doc Rivers has announced Shaq will return just when the Celtics need massiveness the most? 

If Shaq can survive the remainder of the playoffs while playing 15 to 20 minutes (early on, at least), the Celtics will have a much more dependable and much less dependent rotation in terms of size. Shaq, JO and Baby? If Shaq can even be the least bit serviceable, this becomes a scary front-court. 

That being said, everything I have said could prove irrelevant should Boston fall on Saturday night. 

A team that usually overcomes all adversity down the stretch in games didn't do that this past Tuesday. That has nothing to do with age. The Celtics simply haven't played well. 

In what will be one of the most anticipated games of the NBA season to date, the Celtics are sure to lay everything on the line at the Garden in Game 3. 

A win would sustain the ability of the organization and it's fans to look forward to another equally important game (with Shaq potentially making me look like a genius). 

A loss would likely signal an end to what the big three has already given us-an extremely thrilling and passion-filled roller-coaster that brought about yet another chapter in one of the game's greatest rivalries. A group that, past it's prime, reminded everyone just how far heart can get you. 

Regardless of outcome, it would be criminal to think that a team sporting four surefire Hall of Famers will go out any quieter than they came in.