Heat Poised To Eliminate Boston's Big Three
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – The Miami Heat has been looking up at the 800 pound gorilla in the room, the Boston Celtics, all season. But with the series now returning to Miami, the Heat are poised to eliminate the Celtics and get over one of the biggest roadblocks towards a championship.
"Wednesday night will be our greatest challenge that we've had with this group so far," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We'll get their best games on Wednesday. And we have to do better. If we're real about what we want to do, we have to beat the Boston Celtics at their best."
But the Celtics also have to beat the Heat's Big Three who are playing some of the best basketball they've played all season long. In Game 4, the Heat's Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh scored 83 of Miami's 98 points and pulled down 35 of its 45 rebounds.
For Wade and LeBron, a win Wednesday will be the vindication of why they came together to play for the Heat. Both have faced the Celtics in the playoffs in years past and both have come up short against them, most notably LeBron when he played with the Cavaliers.
In all, Wade had lost 11 straight regular-season and playoff games in Boston. James had lost 13 of 15, including the one that ended his Cleveland career.
"We're the guys. We're the ones who get all the attention. We're the ones that get all the praise," Wade said. "This team is going to go as far as us three takes it."
Chris Bosh, who took a lot of unnecessary criticism after he gave some honest comments after Game 3, said the Heat wanted one game in Boston.
"Our goal was to come out and compete for two games and hopefully get one. And we accomplished that goal," Bosh said. "We're one more win away from our short-term goal, and we just have to keep playing together and keep the defensive frame of mind that we did for the last three quarters."
The Celtics will still be featuring point guard Rajon Rondo, who is essentially playing the game one armed after dislocating his left elbow in Game 3. Rondo is showing tremendous strength and courage fighting through his injury, but he may not be enough to overcome the Heat.
The Celtics had hoped to get another good game at home out of Kevin Garnett. But, the player labeled, "The Big Ticket," was shut down again by the Heat's stifling defense, most notably from Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony.
Plus, when Heat forward Udonis Haslem takes to the court at the AAA for the first time since tearing a ligament in his foot, the home crowd will electrify and try to help push the Heat over the top.
And while there will be pressure on the Heat's Big Three, the Celtics will have to beat the Heat in the AmericanAirlines Arena and do it on just one day's rest. Not only that, but the Celtics have to win three in a row against the Heat to advance, and that's just not going to happen.
So while the Boston Celtics' Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen look like they are on their last legs; the Miami Heat's Big Three of Bosh, LeBron, and Wade are poised to supplant them at the top of the food chain in the Eastern Conference.
