They also got their heads handed to them in an ugly April blowout.
The C’s are 3-1 against the Heat since LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh came together to form their South Beach supersquad. But that doesn’t matter anymore. To survive and reach the Eastern Conference finals, they need to outlast the Heat in a seven-game series that will test their depth, resolve and will to win another NBA championship.
So which C’s team shows up? The one that made quick work of the Heat in those first three meetings, or the one that crumbled in the fourth?
Here are six ways the Celtics can ensure the former.
Get Paul Pierce’s A game on both ends.
It’s been a rough few weeks for Pierce. First he drew one of the most dominant small forwards in the game in round one, in the Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony. Now he’s got an even tougher matchup in LeBron. Pierce may be one of the most effective LeBron-stoppers in the game, but it saps a lot of his energy, making it more difficult for him to dominate on the other end of the floor. Can the C’s captain keep King James under control, while at the same time staying efficient on offense? He averaged 22.3 points per game against the Knicks. Keeping it up will be a challenge.
Attack early and often with Rajon Rondo.
This matchup is one of stars neutralizing stars. The Heat have LeBron to throw at Paul Pierce, they’ve got Dwyane Wade for Ray Allen, and they’ve got Chris Bosh for Kevin Garnett. But who stops Rondo, who’s in his prime athletically at 25 and has a chance to take over this series with his speed? Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers are skilled guys, but they’re just not cutting it against Rondo. Every time the C’s point guard sees an opportunity to attack — in transition, with driving lanes in the halfcourt, or even taking a mid-range jumper if left open — he’s got to take it. Rondo can win this series for the Celtics.
Dominate the paint.
The Heat held a very slight rebounding edge in four regular-season meetings, 144-143. But they had four different looks at the center position in four games — one game with Shaquille O’Neal, one with Jermaine O’Neal, one with both, and one with neither but Kendrick Perkins instead. If they want to find some stability this time, they need J.O. to be at his best against his former team. They need him to block shots, grab rebounds, and defend the rim against the always-aggressive Heat superstars. Then at the other post position, the C’s need seven games of strong defense from KG on Bosh.
Win the battle of the benches.
Glen Davis bragged this week that Boston had the deepest bench in the league, while Miami’s wasn’t deep enough. He’s got to put his money where his mouth is in this series. Miami will no doubt lean on their big three for 40-plus minutes a night, but they’ll still need to dip into their bench a little — for Joel Anthony for some tough post defense, James Jones for some wing scoring, and Mario Chalmers for some energy and jump-shooting spark.
The C’s have superior talent to match up. They’ve got Davis, they’ve got Jeff Green, they’ve got Delonte West and they might even have Jermaine O’Neal. They’ve got to push their edge when the game becomes bench-on-bench.
No turnovers allowed.
The Celtics’ turnover totals in four games against the Knicks: 16, 10, 20, 15, for a total of just over 15 per game. Not good, but the C’s survived and swept New York anyway. That won’t fly against the Heat. Not only will they be more aggressive defensively to force turnovers, but when they do, they have two incredible transition scoring weapons in — you guessed it — LeBron and D-Wade. The Celtics have to take care of the ball, or they become vulnerable to flurries of easy Miami points.
Out-execute them down the stretch.
A big storyline for the Celtics in round one was their execution in the final minutes. They won Game 1 with a nice play to set screens for Allen and Pierce; Allen hit a game-winning shot. They won Game 2 with another example of stellar execution to open up a game-winner for Garnett. Meanwhile, the Heat got blasted for their failure to close out games, with yet another game-winning miss from LeBron in Game 4. The Celtics have to hope this keeps up. There will be close games aplenty in this series, and the C’s need to find the smarts and the determination to make the game-winning play.
The Celtics did well against the Heat in the regular season. But the playoffs are an entirely different animal. Let’s see if the C’s can tame it.
