Kontradiction
On my retirement tour.
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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.On the big win yesterday. The Heat just can't seem to beat the Celts. In all, your defense looks primed for another championship run and Rondo is, by far, your MVP. His defense on LeBron took over that game. You're going to be a tough out in the Eastern Conference.
somewhat OT: I think the next year or 2 Rondo turns that last corner. He's only 24 or 25, and I think his jumper has improved this year (despite missing the late one yesterday and several open shots against the Lakers). I think he'll continue to improve that aspect of his game -- both extending range and improving % on the mid-range shots, and either next year or next becomes a guy they're no longer leaving open for the shots he missed in those games.
(I'm not as confident re the FTs -- I don't understand the problem but I've seen enough players not get through it that I don't have confidence that Rondo will, either)
Much like Pats fans discovered this season with the Jets - delivering regular season schadenfreude is no consolation for having it handed right back to you in the postseason.
I am happy the Celts are 3-0 against the Heat, but anything can happen this spring and early summer, and it wouldn't shock me.
I will say that fundamentally I think the Celtics are just a better team.
My issues with Lebron are well-established, I don't think he's a player I'd start my team with. And I do think that his game is so heavily predicated on the officiating (I think you literally could call a violation on him - offensive foul, traveling, etc. - on the majority of his offensive possessions) that on the rare occasion the refs don't bow to his excellence, he's S.O.L.
Wade doesn't scare me by himself either. The C's can clamp down on scorers & penetrators - thanks to their great team defense. He's no danger as a spot-up guy, so he doesn't benefit much from the attention Lebron draws.
Bosh is an issue as he will knock down open jumpers created for him, but KG generally handles him.
Still, what I took from the Celtics yesterday is that Rondo still hasn't gotten over the hump. He's on the verge of superstardom and has been for sometime, but he may never get over it. Because he had a chance to end that game and missed an open jumper. I rarely criticize Rondo b/c I think he's by far the C's best player - but he has to hit that jumper, or use the space to create himself a shot he can make, or an open look for a teammate. And most of all, he has to make free throws.
For the life of me, I don't understand how any skilled basketball player couldn't - with proper effort, and we know he has put in the effort - become a 75% free throw shooter. It's gotta be mental with him.
I have a couple of spots to disagree with, as you're probably aware.
1. I don't think that the Celtics are the fundamentally better team, as in more talented. The talent level goes to the Heat. But the Celtics, much like the Pats, are the more blue collar, hard working team of the two. Out of every team in the league, the Celtics are just a match-up problem with the Heat. Nobody on Miami's roster can clamp down on Rondo offensively as we saw yesterday with his ability to cut to the hoop. Bosh simply cannot sh!t on Garnett like he did Gasol on Christmas. Garnett is simply too strong and too physical for Bosh to have his way with him (in spite of Bosh's strong effort yesterday). Down low, both Shaq and Perkins are bad match-ups for the ultra-soft Ilgauskas. Speaking of the last match-up, if the Heat want to take more advantage of Shaq and Perkins, they should let Ilgauskas take more outside shots. He's generally a good shooter and if he can sink some of those shots, it could loosen up the Celtics interior defense and prevent them from clogging the paint, which will help Wade out.
2. We've disagreed a few times on LeBron. In all, I'm more of a Wade fan than a LeBron fan. But I don't think that "so much of his game" relies on the officiating and his size. He's obviously got talent and natural ability or he wouldn't be one of the better players in the game today. He has the ability to drive on you, get offensive rebounds, and be a nightmare on the perimeter as well as in the paint. On top of all of that, his jump shot has improved immensely this year. With that said, though, I'm not going to deny that he gets the benefit of the doubt with the officials. All of the better players in the game have gotten that. Jordan could literally punch someone in the face and have gotten away with it. Same with Shaq in his prime. Magic, Bird, the list goes on. As for starting your team with him, the Heat didn't do that. They started the team with DWade.
3. If the Heat want to beat the Celtics in their last match-up of the season and in the playoffs, it's really simple what needs to happen: Wade needs to play better. The Heat need to find a way to utilize one on one match-ups a bit better (I expanded on one of them in my first point) in order to loosen up that phenomenal Boston interior defense. Wade getting to the basket more is absolutely the key of what needs to happen to swing this match-up. If he shows up against Boston in the playoffs (I generally believe that the two teams will meet) like he has so far this season and is only able to contribute 15-16 points per game, the Heat won't be seeing a championship this year.
As I said, though, great game yesterday. The Celtics are in the Heat's heads and that's not going to change unless the Heat win. That said, our two teams have the best defenses in the Eastern Conference and are both top five in the NBA. The Celtics will get healthy and hopefully the Heat will remain that way. With their two defenses, a Eastern Conference Championship series will be riveting television for any basketball fan.
Rather sad the Heat lost, the Celtics barely had enough players to even go at it. No Semih, Shaq, Nate, Daniels and Pierce is battling about 3 different injuries.
Yeah but they still had Garnett, Allen, Rondo, and Perkins... the guys that create all of the match-up problems for the Heat.
Still, the role players make up a large part of the game. This was a game the Heat should have won handedly. It's not a good sign for them once the playoffs come around, when you figure the Celts will be healthy.
The Heat need a big man, or they wont get far.
I love the Celtics role players and do think their supporting cast is much better than Miami's, but it's really Rondo and KG who dictate how this team fares on both ends. At least when it comes to projecting this team in the playoffs.
Let's face it, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen can suck on any given night and this team can still win. Heck, Pierce was awful against Miami.
But if Rondo isn't on his game, and if the team is missing KG due to injury, forget it. The entire defense game plan is predicated on those two guys' speed, length and instincts for their position.
In this respect, I'd really like to see Chalmers step up his game. People will call me an idiot for saying this due to what the Heat have to work with, but I'd like to see the ball in Chalmers hands more often. Chalmers is a capable passer and is a good knock down shooter. He's not on the same level as Rondo (LOL at the person on here who said he was), but he does a good job on his own for creating offense for his teammates. I can see how it would be difficult to take the ball out of Wade and LeBron's hands, but if Chalmers grows up and takes the next step at some point this season, he could make the Heat that much more difficult to stop. THAT's where I think the problem lies with the Heat when it comes to matching up with the Celtics. I think the big man problems are overblown. The Heat have a big man. A soft one, but he gets the job done. On top of that, Miami is one of the better teams in the league of getting to the basket and, as a team, getting rebounds. As a matter of fact, the Heat actually out-rebounded the Celtics 41-40 in the last game. Forget the big man, the Heat need someone that can create offense for the Big 3 the way Rondo does for Boston. Chalmers may or may not be that man. He hasn't been in the starting line-up for this team for that long, so we should find out sometime after the All-Star break and before the playoffs.
It's simple really.
The star players on Miami have yet to truly put their egos aside to put winning ahead of personal focus.