LeBron James and his Miami Heat venture into New England in the team's latest attempt to vanquish the mighty Boston Celtics (1 PM Eastern, ABC). The Celtics have won both match-ups with the Heat this season, including in a highly-hyped opening night contest at TD Banknorth Garden.
Heat Vs. Celtics: LeBron James Tries Again To Conquer Boston
But both Celtics’ wins came before the Heat hit its stride. Miami started the season 9-8 before blasting off; the team is now 39-14, winners of eight straight and a half-game ahead of Boston in the race for the East’s No. 1 seed. The C’s can recapture No. 1 with a win today. The teams have one more match-up scheduled, but that won’t happen until April 10, the final weekend of the season. Home court advantage may be settled by that point.
LeBron, in particular, has a salty history with the Celtics. Boston famously knocked King James' Cavaliers out of the playoffs last year in what had been deemed LeBron's make-or-break postseason. The vicious C's defense held James down a couple times; there were also reports, since verified, that LeBron suffered an elbow injury serious enough to hurt his production. The elbow was considered a joke, an excuse at the time, one Boston fans certainly relished as their team played for a(nother) championship banner.
James has played fairly well (even by his lofty standards) in both Boston games this season. In the season opener, he had 31 points on 10-21 shooting, but also had eight turnovers while carrying the load for ineffective Dwyane Wade (4-16 from the floor) and Chris Bosh (3-11). In the Nov. 11 rematch in Miami, LeBron scored 35 points on 9-21 shooting with 10 rebounds, nine assists and three steals. Wade again struggled, shooting 2-12 and watching Ray Allen break out for 35 points.
That Wade has struggled so much against Boston this year is odd, considering that Wade assaulted the Celtics in last year’s postseason. Miami, then without LeBron or Bosh, had Boston in the first round. Wade averaged 33 points per game in that series, and shot an incredible 56 percent. But the Celtics’ plan sought to make Wade uncomfortable but more importantly take his teammates out of the game; that was successful, and Boston took the series 4-1.
Now, Boston is looking to make LeBron uncomfortable and take his teammates out of the game. Wade's the key in the Celtics' strategy; if he can break out while James continues to light up Paul Pierce, Miami should be in a strong position. The worry for Miami going forward will be whether Bosh and the Heat's cavalcade of limited centers can handle Boston's deep frontcourt, and whether the team defense can contain Rajon Rondo. It's a real tight match-up, and should make for an entertaining game.
For more on the Celtics, check out SB Nation Boston and CelticsBlog. For Heat analysis, visit Peninsula Is Mightier.
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