Celtics Heat Finals Prediction
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Marquee Matchup Set To Begin In Miami
Once Derrick Rose went down with an ACL injury, sports analysts and NBA fans began to wonder who would be the team from the eastern conference to challenge the juggernaut known as the Miami Heat for a trip to the NBA Finals. Although the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers showed glimpses of greatness once the postseason began, they inevitably crumbled in the spotlight of the playoffs, allowing the senior citizen Celtics to advance to the conference finals slated to begin in Miami.
Boston Celtics Preview
All season long the head coach of the Celtics, Doc Rivers, stated the only thing that matters is getting into the playoffs. He understood that his squad was guided by veteran leadership and the know how to win on the road in hostile environments during the playoffs. After knocking off the Atlanta Hawks, Boston was pushed to a seven game series against the surprising eight-seeded 76ers. In a low-scoring defensive series that was utterly painful to watch, the Celtics emerged victorious. The only problem is that they lost a key player in Avery Bradley for the rest of the postseason, and tired themselves out way more than they needed to against an inferior squad. In a compacted season that has left almost every team in the association blasted with injuries, the Celtics have both Ray Allen and Paul Pierce banged up. The Celtics are talented and deserving of the spot they are in, but are nowhere near as healthy as team with championship aspirations should be. They are nowhere near as healthy as Miami, even with Chris Bosh questionable for the series.
What The Celtics Need To Win
The Celtics have a couple advantages over the Heat. First of all, they have no fear of the "Frozen One" or "Flash". They have beaten the Heat in the regular series, and know what it takes to limit the scoring of both James and Wade. Secondly, the Celtics play a slow-tempo, defensive oriented game that will surely make it difficult for the Heat to get into any offensive rhythm, something that is essential for Miami to be successful. The last advantage the Celtics have is the mental edge. There was a reason James fell to his knees when the Heat defeated the Celtics last year. James and his teammates know Boston is good, and that the boys in green are no chumps. Boston is a historic franchise with numerous championships, and guided by at least three first-ballot Hall of Famers.
Miami Heat Preview
Miami easily handled the over-rated New York Knicks, but fell into a quick 2-1 series deficit against a Indiana Pacers. Falling behind against the Pacers was probably due to the Heat learning how to play without Chris Bosh who sustained a abdominal injury early in the series. However, once the Heat realized that their season would be decided on the play of Wade and James, the two all-stars showed the world what they are made of, destroying the Pacers in three straight games to advance to the conference finals.
What The Heat Need To Win
With James and Wade forced to carry the majority of the scoring load, staying out of foul trouble will be huge for Miami. They will also need to do everything necessary to contain Rajon Rondo who will certainly be a challenge for the Heat to guard. With that said, all the Heat need to do in order to be successful is play their game with average efficiency. They are better than the Celtics at nearly every position, have home court advantage and are overall more healthy. The Heat should have no problems if they simply play up to their level of talent.
Prediction
Most analysts believe that this will be a very one-sided and short series. However, this GPS tracker specialist and sports editor believes that the Celtics will dig down deep to play their very best basketball. The Celtics are banged up and probably over-matched even if they were healthy, but the squad led by Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce realize that this may be their last chance to win a championship. They will come out to play, and play very hard against the Heat. The only problem is that the refs call way too many fouls for James and Wade, making every close game likely decided at the free throw line. In a series that will be pushed all the way to the edge, the Miami Heat will win in 7 games.