NBA | HEAT AT CELTICS, 1 p.m., abc
Miami Heat-Boston Celtics to be ultimate proving ground
miamiherald.com
he early season circus is over for the surging Heat, which faces nemesis Boston on Sunday with first place in the East on the line.
By Joseph Goodman
jgoodman@MiamiHerald.com
BOSTON -- Sunday is about substance.
Until now, the Heat’s season has been defined and framed by its unquenchable hype. Hysteria, histrionics, Heatles: It was fun – but it’s over.
On Sunday, Miami returns to Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden, the place where the madness all began and where a season opener felt like a three-ring circus. Those feelings are gone. What remains is something simple.
“It’s more about basketball,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said.
Simpler still: Which team is better, the Heat or the Celtics?
That question had an easy answer back in November. Things have changed. The Heat (39-14) has won eight games in a row entering Sunday. Meanwhile, Boston (38-14) has lost three of its past four. On Friday, the Heat moved a half-game ahead of the Celtics to claim first place in the Eastern Conference standings.
“Now the target is on our back,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
In reality, the target has been on the Heat all season. It was too much to handle in October and November, when the Heat dropped two games to the Celtics. Now comfortable, the Heat is looking to Sunday’s 1 p.m. game as a measuring stick.
“We were a totally different team the last two times we played the Celtics,” Heat forward LeBron James said. “Those guys were just too much for us at the time – very overwhelming for us at the time – and we’ve come a long way. We just need to show what we’ve [been] doing as of late and take it to the game on Sunday.”
Merely a collection of talented players the last time it faced Boston, the Heat has steadily developed into a team since the beginning of the season. In its past six games, the Heat’s bench is averaging more than 29 points per game. Rotations are clearly defined. Offensive wrinkles have been added. Confidence has replaced concern.
“We feel like we’re the most improved team since the end of November, and each game we play is another opportunity for us to get better,” Spoelstra said. “And now we’re sitting on top of the East going into a hostile place where we did not play well the first game of the year.”
The Heat fell behind early in the season opener, trailing the Celtics by 18 points before the end of the first half. There were legitimate excuses. Wade had just returned from his preseason hamstring injury, the Heat’s defense struggled to keep up with Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen, who made 5 of 8 attempts from three-point range, and the Heat was without one of its own outside specialists, Mike Miller.
The rematch in Miami on Nov.?11 was much of the same. Boston was simply the better team.
“We’re definitely a different team from when we last played them in Miami,” Heat center Joel Anthony said. “So this is definitely a game we’re looking forward to to see how much we’ve improved and be able to show how much we’ve changed.”
The combination of limiting Allen from the perimeter and containing Boston point guard Rajon Rondo will be one of the biggest litmus tests of the Heat’s improvement. Allen torched the Heat earlier this season, shooting 12 of 17 from three-point range in the two games. Meanwhile, Rondo had his way with the Heat, averaging 16.5 assists per game.
How the Heat chooses to defend Rondo on Sunday, especially if the game is close in the fourth quarter, could provide a glimpse of the future if Miami and Boston meet in the playoffs. Matching up James against Rondo is not out of the question if either Wade or Miller can keep up with Allen, now the NBA’s all-time leader in three-point field goals.
“It’s tough,” said Wade, who is averaging just 10.5 points per game this season against the Celtics. “It takes something out of you.”
Winning the mental game Sunday will be just as important as keeping up with Allen, according to Wade. The Celtics’ veteran lineup, led by forward Kevin Garnett, has a reputation for frustrating opponents with hard fouls and stingy defense.
“It’s not just about how much we can score and how well we can defend,” Wade said. “[Boston] beats you in other ways. They beat you mentally. They get you frustrated. So it’s going to be a test to see how much we’ve grown as a team – to be able to withstand all of that and plus their talent.”
On Saturday, Spoelstra downplayed the importance of Sunday’s game, but a win for the Celtics would clinch the season series, giving Boston the edge in any tiebreaker scenarios at the end of the season. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition, and the second tiebreaker is records within the Eastern Conference.
“It’s going to be a great game – two teams that have the same aspirations, and that’s winning the NBA championship,” James said. “They’re the defending Eastern Conference champions, and you’ve got to go through them to get what you want.”
MILLER TIME
Sunday’s game against the Celtics will be the first for Miller in a Heat uniform. He was recovering from a thumb injury earlier this season when Miami dropped its first two games against Boston.
“I’m excited, man,” Miller said. “It was tough watching the first two. I hope I can bring something to the game that can help us win, but our team has changed a lot since then.”
The Heat practiced at Suffolk University in Boston on Saturday in preparation for Sunday’s game, and Miller was one of the last players on the court. He rarely missed from three-point range. When he did miss, Miller received playful jeers from James, who was seated nearby.
The Heat shot 40 percent from three-point range in its 88-80 loss to the Celtics in the season opener, but made just 3 of 16 attempts from long distance in the rematch at AmericanAirlines Arena.
ALL-STAR OUTLOOK
Celtics coach Doc Rivers will coach the Eastern Conference All-Star team next Sunday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. He joked with reporters Saturday that he would “probably play LeBron and Wade a good 46 to 47 minutes” while resting his All-Stars’ legs for the final third of the season.
Seven All-Star players will be on the floor Sunday: James, Wade and Chris Bosh for the Heat; Rondo, Allen, Garnett and Paul Pierce for the Celtics. Heat forward James Jones will be competing in the three-point contest.
PRAISE FROM PIERCE
Pierce offered rare praise for the Heat on Saturday, telling reporters that Miami reminds him of the “Lakers with Magic [Johnson], or [Michael] Jordan and [Scottie] Pippen, when they get out on the break.”
That sign of respect is a far cry from Pierce’s rhetoric earlier in the season when, after defeating the Heat in Miami, he posted on Twitter this memorable one-liner: “It’s been a pleasure to bring my talents to South Beach now on to Memphis.”
Heat forward Udonis Haslem later called Pierce a “studio gangster.”
The Miami Herald
Read more: miamiherald.com |
