Heat Vs. Celtics: Highly Anticipated Series To Begin Sunday In Miami

The teams did meet again in April, with the No. 2 seed and home court advantage in this very series on the line. Miami blew the doors off, winning by 23. Boston immediately conceded the No. 2 position, resting some of his starters for the final week of the season. That loss now comes home to roost, with the Heat playing the tone-setting first two games of the series at home.

Once this series begins, it’ll take on a life of its own, and it seems we’ll be able to forget all about the four regular season games between the teams.

There’s a flip side, of course; LeBron is one of the best wing defenders alive, and Pierce’s own efficiency plummets when playing against James according to StatsCube. This season, Pierce shared the court with LeBron for 137 minutes. In those minutes, he averaged 12.9 points per 36 minutes on 42 percent shooting. For the season as a whole, Pierce averaged 19.6 points per 36 while shooting 50 percent.

There are a slew of great matchups in this season, but none more important than LeBron vs. Pierce.

It’s a storyline everyone understands. When you put it in those terms, even Middle America can get amped. If James can tilt the scales this much in his favor and still come up short against the Celtics, so it goes, then what has he really accomplished?

Of course, as any self-respecting basketball fan will tell you, it’s a team game. LeBron cannot beat a team as powerful as the Celtics all by himself. He will need his teammates to be on top of their games if they want to advance past the very big lunch the Celtics represent. In particular, he needs one high-profile teammate to get his game together and shake off his season struggles against the Celtics.