Celtics-Heat Positional Matchups: Who's Got The Advantage?
BOSTON (CBS) -- They met two years ago, before "The Decision," and the Celtics won handily. They met last season, and the Heat returned the favor.
This year will be the rubber match, and just like the previous two meetings, it's completely unique from any other year.
Both sides will be dealing with injuries, but both will be sufficiently motivated to advance to the NBA Finals.
Here's a breakdown of each team's starting five, with a look at who holds the advantage in each matchup.
Point Guard
Boston: Rajon Rondo
As dynamic a player as there is in the NBA right now, Rondo has been the player most praised by the Heat leading up to the series. In 12 playoff games thus far, he's averaging 15.3 points, 12.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game, and he's fresh off his third triple-double of the postseason in Game 7 against the 76ers. His elbow injury in Game 3 last year all but sealed the series for the Heat, despite Rondo's best attempts to play with one arm.
This year, in three games against the Heat, Rondo averaged 18.7 points, 13.7 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game.
Though he's a phenomenal athlete, he'll be forced to play 40-plus minutes a night with Avery Bradley out for the remainder of the postseason, all while chasing Dwyane Wade and LeBron James all over the floor. That could wear him down and affect some of those offensive totals.
Miami: Mario Chalmers
Mario Chalmers' job as starting point guard is a lot different than that of his counterpart. His assignment is going to be to try to slow down Rondo and take a few 3's, but mostly get the ball into the hands of James and Wade and let the stars create the offense.
The part about slowing down Rondo is key. If Chalmers proves ineffective in that role, it could force Erik Spoelstra to take LeBron off Paul Pierce to try to guard Rondo, which would help Pierce immensely in having some room to operate on the offensive end. And stopping Rondo is a task much easier said than done.
Advantage: Boston
Shooting Guard
Boston: Ray Allen
Under other circumstances, this space could be used to speak at length about the threat Ray Allen provides for the Celtics as perhaps the best 3-point shooters in the history of the NBA. Given Allen's ankle injury, though, it's fair to say he's become mostly a decoy offensively and a liability defensively.
Still, despite his mammoth struggles to play through the injury, is there any other player in the world who would have taken those two big 3's in the fourth quarter of Game 7, let alone make them? As slowed as he is by injury, he's still Ray Allen, and all things considered, the Celtics could do much worse than having him on the floor.
Miami: Dwyane Wade
It's really looking a lot like 2006 for Dwyane Wade, as he's playing at a championship level that must have given Doc Rivers a couple of sleepless nights since Saturday. Putting aside his no-show in Game 3 against the Pacers, Wade averaged over 30 points per game in the other five contests, capped off with a dominant 41-point showing in the clinching Game 6.
Wade is the player who will most benefit from the absence of Bradley, as he'll be free to blow by the injured Allen as often as he wants to. It'll be up to the Celtics' help defense to have any chance to slow down Wade.
Adantage: Miami
Small Forward
Boston: Paul Pierce
The knee concerns from the Celtics' first-round series against the Hawks appear to be history, as Paul Pierce played just like Paul Pierce during the seven-game series against the Sixers. When Boston needed him to carry the offense, he did, and when other options were working (Kevin Garnett, Rondo, even Brandon Bass), he stepped back and let it happen. Put it all together, and he's averaging 19.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game this postseason.
He's a savvy player who knows how to score and how to win, and so long as he doesn't end up on referee Ed Malloy's bad side again, he'll keep the Celtics close for the duration of the series.
Miami: LeBron James
Had Pierce been matched up with most other small forwards, he'd probably get the advantage. That's just not going to be the case with the way LeBron James has been playing.
He's averaging a cool 29 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game in 11 postseason contests thus far and is very much playing as if he is indeed the best basketball player alive. Given how hard he'll have to work on defense, whether on Pierce or Rondo, you can expect a slightly smaller output in terms of offensive numbers, but at this point, it appears as though LeBron can win this series almost on his own.
Advantage: Miami
Power Forward
Boston: Brandon Bass
Bass has certainly come into his own lately, scoring in double digits in all but one of the Celtics' seven games against the Sixers. He followed up his 27-point Game 5 performance with a 2-for-12 stinker in Game 6, but overall he averaged 14 points and 4.6 boards in just under 29 minutes per game in the series, which is just about all you'd want out of him.
Bass proved his worth in a big way in Game 7, when he played a playoff career high 41 minutes and finished with 16 points, four assists and was a plus-11 by the end of the night. He's also proven to be a deadly efficient free-throw shooter, hitting 40 of 42 from the line this postseason after hitting 81 percent of his free throws during the regular season. He should be able to use his size to work inside and get to the line in the event that his mid-range jumper fails him like it did in Game 6 vs. Philly.
Miami: Shane Battier
The defensive-minded Battier is forced into a starting role due to Chris Bosh's injury, an absence that has a ripple effect all the way through the Heat rotation.
Battier averaged just 23.1 minutes during the regular season but played more than 30 minutes per game after Bosh went down in Game 1 vs. Indiana. Still, he averaged just 3.8 points and 3.3 assists per game, and he's unlikely to play a big factor in this series.
Advantage: Boston
Center
Boston: Kevin Garnett
Garnett has spent the entire postseason bathing in the fountain of youth, as he's been at times the most dominant player on the court. In 13 playoff games, he's averaging 19.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, all while playing more than 37 minutes per night and looking very much like the 20-10 player the Celtics acquired five long years ago.
With Bosh out, Garnett is the best front-court player in this series by far, and he could -- and should -- continue his streak of excellence.
Miami: Udonis Haslem/Ronny Turiaf
Back from a one-game suspension for bashing the face of Tyler Hansbrough, Haslem has a mighty tall task to try to harass Garnett. The shorter Haslem is going to have trouble causing problems on Garnett's mid-range jumper, and again, without Bosh on the floor, he runs the risk of getting beat to the rim if he commits to defending KG's shot.
Offensively, Haslem's averaged just 4.9 points per game while bringing down 5.4 boards. Turiaf, meanwhile has scored 14 points ... total. Though Dexter Pittman is not any better than either of the two, his absence due to suspension will likely force Haslem and Turiaf into extended playing time. That's not a good thing for Miami.
Advantage: Boston
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