LeBron James (left) and Dwayne Wade (right) are chosen by most people to lead the Heat past the Celtics.
Almost every ESPN expert, NBA analyst and even Boston’s own sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy has picked the Miami Heat to destroy the Boston Celtics.
I 100% disagree with their assessment despite respecting the talented future Hall-of-Famers the Heat have in LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. They are two of the top ten players in the NBA and provide havoc for opposing defenses on a consistent basis. In the final two games in their previous series victory over the Indiana Pacers, James and Wade combined for 127 points. The Heat won the series in 6 games. The Heat are missing Chris Bosh, who was pivotal in last season’s series against the Celtics. He may miss the entire series depending on how his abdomen injury heals. Bosh hasn’t lived up to the hype as he is constantly criticized for his on-court calm demeanor, but he was the only true talented big man the Heat have.
Last season the Heat beat the Celtics in 5 games and many see this season ending in a similar fashion for the Celtics. Rajon Rondo partially dislocated his elbow in Game 3 of their series last year and was not the same player after that point in the series. Rondo is perfectly healthy heading into Game 1 tonight which will obviously be a key component. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are both hampered by knee and ankle injuries, but have flashes of brilliance left in them from time to time. Pierce’s defense will be a vital piece if the Celtics are to pull off this upset. Bench players such as Mickael Pietrus and Marquis Daniels might be called into action more to help defend Wade and James. The Celtics’ bench for all of the criticism it takes, is arguably better overall than the Heat bench.
The main reason I feel the Celtics will win this series is Kevin Garnett. Garnett is playing at an elite level not seen since the championship season of 2007-08. The NBA.com stats clearly display Garnett’s excellence during this 2011-12 postseason.
Garnett’s Career Playoff Averages:
| Year | Team | G | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | OFF | DEF | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 07-08 | BOS | 26 | 26 | 38.0 | 0.495 | 0.250 | 0.810 | 2.8 | 7.8 | 10.5 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 20.4 |
| 09-10 | BOS | 23 | 23 | 33.3 | 0.495 | 0.000 | 0.839 | 1.4 | 6.0 | 7.4 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 15.0 |
| 10-11 | BOS | 9 | 9 | 36.4 | 0.441 | 0.000 | 0.759 | 2.3 | 8.6 | 10.9 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 14.9 |
| 11-12 | BOS | 13 | 13 | 37.1 | 0.505 | 0.500 | 0.811 | 1.2 | 9.6 | 10.8 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 19.2 |
| Career | – | 118 | 118 | 38.7 | 0.475 | 0.306 | 0.785 | 2.3 | 8.8 | 11.1 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 19.6 |
Garnett is scoring, rebounding and blocking shots at a very similar pace to that of the championship year and has lifted the Celtics on his own in a handful of playoff games thus far these playoffs. Garnett struggled against Bosh last season and will certainly have an easier time this series with Bosh out injured.
The Celtics won’t run away with the series in any way, but they have exactly what it takes to beat the Heat. Celtics in 7.