2011 NBA Playoffs: Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Game 5 Preview
After dominating the regular season series 3-1 against the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics find themselves fighting for their playoff lives now trailing 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Heat dominated the first two games of the series, looking every bit the championship contender most expected to see all season.
The Celtics then bounced back with a veteran-like effort in Game 4, ousting the Heat 97-81 in a must-win situation.
Many, including myself, believed the Heat needed to win Game 5 to prevent a Celtics snowball from occurring and running away with the series.
The Heat did just that, knocking off Boston 98-90 in overtime. Now comes the most important game: The closeout game.
It's much easier said than done. Taking down a champion, a battle-tested team. Boston knows it can win this game and has proved as much in the past three seasons, but for some reason this game has a different feel to it.
The late arriving Miami crowd will most likely be unaware of the magnitude of this game. A loss here and the series is immediately back to square one. But, the Heat understand the importance of this game and will look to give their best effort to avoid a trip back to Beantown.
I expect head coach Eric Spoelstra to stick with his Game 4 starters of Mike Bibby, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony.
Much like I predicted a few days ago, Anthony finally earned the start after amassing an amazing plus-minus throughout the playoffs.
He doesn't show up in the stat sheet, but Anthony makes the difference in the post for Heat. From blocking shots to simply boxing-out defenders and allowing LeBron and Bosh to rack up rebounds, Anthony has provided the difference in this series.
Oh, and there are these two other guys. James and Wade have simply been the two best players on the court at all times this series, providing clutch shot after clutch shot (outside of the LeBron turnover that almost proved extremely costly).
The duo has approached this series with a noticeable intensity that we haven't seen all year.
Expect them to play exceptional once again, dazzling the crowd and the Celtics bench (Yes, you Glen Davis).
As for the Celtics, they just seem too old. I thought they had one more year, but it seems apparent that the wear and tear of a brutal 82-plus game slate has finally caught up to them.
Then again this is a spot where the Celtics have rallied.
If there's one thing we can be certain of, American Airlines Arena will be electric and regardless of the outcome NBA fans should be prepared to see two star-studded squads at their absolute best when it means the absolute most.
