NBA Playoffs: For the Heat, Game 3 Was a Tale of Opposites

The one aspect in which the Miami Heat have had a noticeable disadvantage all season long has been their lack of bench production.

The one aspect that was always strong? The Big Three would dominate the game.

It wasn't whether or not they would gel well enough; the question was whether or not the supporting cast would be strong enough to complement LeBron, Wade and Bosh.

On this night, however, the two aspects were switched.

The weakest area of the Miami Heat's play was by far the strongest, with the bench playing superb.

The Big Three, on the other hand, did not.

In one of the strongest performances from the bench this season, the trio of Mario Chalmers, Joel Anthony and James Jones combined for 35 of Miami's 81 total points, combining to shoot 63 percent from the field. This trio also only needed 23 shots to make their 35 points.

In contrast, the Big Three combined for 44 points, shooting 31 percent from the field. They needed 41 shots to make their 44 points, and this is including free throws. When these are taken out of the equation, the Big Three took 41 shots to make 31 points.

In particular, Joel "The Warden" Anthony and Mario Chalmers were outstanding.

Chalmers hit big shot after big shot and played great defence. He also pushed the tempo up and was able to advance the ball up the court efficiently with Rondo applying full-court pressure, something Mike Bibby couldn't do. He would go on to have 17 points by the end of the game.

Anthony was just stellar again. More and more people are now taking note of his hustle and energy, and this time (for once) the boxscore is an actual indication of how well he played. He finished with a career high in playoff points with 12, to go along with 11 rebounds (five of which were offensive).

Chris Bosh, for the first time in this series, was dominated by his respective counterpart.

Bosh has struggled offensively in this series, but managed to outplay Garnett in both the first two games.

Game 3 was another story all together. The Big Ticket finished with his best game in recent memory, scoring 28 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. He was influential in a big third quarter run by the Celtics that would put the game out of reach.

This bench production makes you wonder how brutal the score differential would have been if the bench hadn't have been so effective in this game.

It may serve as some sort of motivation for the likes of Mario Chalmers and Joel Anthony, to know that they can score and be efficient like they were today, to continue with this level of play as the series progresses. The bench will also receive a boost when Udonis Haslem returns to the lineup.

It may also serve as a wake up call to the Big Three, and that they need to keep the foot on the accelerator as they look ahead to Game 4 on Monday.

One thing is for sure, if the bench can play at this level consistently, and the Big Three can play like they have been for the majority of the season, the Heat would be theoretically unbeatable.

Certainly, improvements need to be made moving forward, because this Celtics team is now brimming with confidence, with may cause Miami many more headaches as the series moves on.