I often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and bloggers are saying about the Celtics after playing the Celtics. Here's a dose of 'enemy chatter' from Miami.
The surprise of last season’s resurrection has perhaps led to an overcorrection in Heat-Celtics analysis. Betting against Boston, again, evokes the feeling of scarfing a meal that gave you food poisoning the last time. Factor in how these Celtics delivered the worst moment of LeBron’s career, consider the 3-1 season advantage, and it results in an emotional sense that eventually, green will be verdant.
But those reasons are divorced from these last two games, contests that whisper: “Miami is much better.”
On Inside the NBA, my favorite TV pundits waffled on the question of “Is Boston in trouble?” Let me answer that for them: Yes, Boston is scrambling in hell’s sinkhole.
Though the idea that, “The Heat just protected home court,” has resonance, look at the series another way: If you deemed the next two games a coin flip — which is generous to Boston — the original big three have a 25 percent chance of getting the series back to a point where they’d still be underdogs.
Heat Index – Why Boston looks done
Wow. How's that for overconfidence?
It's one thing for me to proclaim the Celtics done (and I haven't yet), but you'd think a guy who watched the Heat's rollercoaster season and their first round struggles with Philly (yes, 4-1 can be a struggle) would want to hold off on planning the Celtics funeral.
The author – Ethan Sherwood Strauss – is the same guy who insinuated that race is a factor in the media's perception of Lebron. He writes this inflammatory stuff for one reason – to get noticed. I'm sure that's the same reason why he uses his middle name in the byline.
On Page 2, the Heat's unsung hero in the series.
Joel Anthony has not-so-quietly become the defensive MVP of the series, a hybrid of Dennis Rodman's relentless pursuit of the loose ball and Alonzo Mourning's defensive intensity that energizes your fellow teammates. In just one example of many, the Celtic were breathing down the Heat's neck down only 85-80 at the 5:45 mark of the final quarter when Wade missed a pull-up jumper. The ball could have easily been rebounded and in the hands of either Glen Davis or Paul Pierce with a chance to cut the lead to just 2 or 3 points. Instead, Anthony's athleticism allowed the ball to poke free for LeBron to collect it and slam it through while getting fouled.
Agreed. Anthony is killing us. Let's see how high he jumps with 350 pounds on his back.
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