Game Five ended exactly as it should have: the Celtics simply running out of gas as Wade and LeBron put their feet to the floor. It was sobering to watch the Celtics come unraveled to an extent with turnovers, missed shots, a little luck for the Heat and a little help from the Commish. I’m sorry, but if Dwyane Wade is going to get bailed out EVERY time he goes to the hoop then the fix is in. For example, our goofy-ass center Nenad Krstic is standing outside the lane with his hands up and not moving at all and Mr. Wade comes rumbling through the lane, initiates the contact, throws up a prayer, and gets a whistle. In slow motion it was even more appalling. Not to channel my inner Tommy Heinsohn, but it was a joke. Sorry, just had to get that out. The Celtics did still have a shot though. They held a 5 point lead with 3:48 left and just couldn’t hang on. Not having Rondo (injury) or Baby (mental midget) on the floor at the end was a killer. They just had too many moving pieces that hadn’t spent a lot of time together out there on the floor. Not the way you want to end your season.
As the game ended and the nation was forced to watch the Heat celebrate as if they had just won the championship, I was planning my post today and it was to be a eulogy. The new ‘Big 3’ era was ending (even though they are under contract) and with Doc riding off into the sunset, it was going to be a very different feel next year. The good times were behind us. The championship aspirations were gone. We were headed for the middle of the pack. BUT…then I turned on Doc’s press conference. He praised the Heat (a savvy thing to do publicly, even though Red would rather choke on his cigar before he pulled that kind of move) and then was asked about his future. WARNING: if you have any sort of heart problems, you may want to sit down before you read this. Doc explained that he’s leaning towards coming back. He wants to win it again with these guys. He loves coaching them (really?). He’s a Celtic. I was speechless. Now this doesn’t mean pencil the Celtics in for the NBA Finals next year, but it certainly was a silver lining after the disappointment of an early exit.
The problems that plagued this team all year came back to bite them once again. The turnovers prevented them from extending the lead in the first half and seemed to pop up right at the most inopportune time (a Pierce to Green pass ends up out of bounds with a minute left and down 3). The defensive lapses led to a huge advantage at the free throw line for the Heat (they were +18 in attempts). The lack of rebounding again was a problem. The Heat were a +8 in that category, but it felt like even more. The Celtics were forced to go small without the services of Jermaine or Shaq, and they just got pummeled underneath. Lastly, the 2nd chance points were a joke (13-7). All of the hustle plays went to the Heat in the 2nd half. Here’s a look at these categories for the series:
REB Pts/Paint TO FT’s Attempt 2nd Chance
Gm 1 Even Even BOS -3 MIA +14 7-7
Gm 2 MIA +6 EVEN MIA -1 MIA +14 MIA 10-8
Gm 3 BOS +3 BOS +2 BOS -2 MIA +2 BOS 16-14
Gm 4 MIA +17 MIA +16 BOS -1 BOS +1 MIA 10-0
Gm 5 MIA +8 MIA +6 MIA -8 MIA +18 MIA 13-7
As you can see, being physical, aggressive, and giving that extra effort was what made the difference for the Heat. They deserved to win (that PAINS me to say). In the end, the injuries to Rondo, Jermaine, Shaq, Paul and Ray were too much to overcome. Oh yeah, and that trade on February 24th may have changed things a little too….
I plan on dealing with Danny (the trade) and the future of this team soon…
All I know is, 41-14 seems a LOOOONG time ago...
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