Cold Front: Boston Beats The Heat, Takes Control Of Series

Dwyane Wade wears glasses without lenses, and here’s where we reverse the classic athlete’s comeback to any question about their performance: what do you know about glasses, Dwyane Wade? Did you ever really play the myopia game, sir? Did you ever spend a blurry second fumbling for your glasses at your bedside, too blind to even see the alarm clock three feet away? No? Fine, sir. Take those glasses off. You clearly have no business wearing them in the first place.

The galling thing about Dwyane Wade’s lensless specs is not its “tell” about the Heat’s psyche, character, blah blah blah. Athletes have been wearing stupid things forever not because they are athletes, but because they are people. Wearing stupid things is an important part of human history, and thus a vital part of sports. (See: Namath, Joe Willie.) The Heat’s play in the Eastern Conference Finals is enough to judge them on without resorting to sportswriters critiquing the fashion choices of young multimillionaires.

“We played good enough to give ourselves a chance to win,” LeBron James said. “That’s all you can ask for.”

This was LeBron in the aftermath of the Heat’s loss to the Celtics in Game 5 Tuesday night, and if you ever had a friend demand an explanation for all the hysteria surrounding LeBron, you could point to this quote to explain everything.

But finally, in Game 5, I think I started to realize why the Heat’s effort comes and goes. The answer: in many instances, the effort of Wade and James themselves comes and goes.

This was the most important game of the Heat’s season to date, against an opponent that has somehow found a sixth gear (or maybe it’s a seventh or eighth gear) after looking so ordinary early in the playoffs. And yet ... there were so many instances of Wade trotting back on defense, James refusing to cut off the ball and both complaining to officials.

It was a good effort from the Miami Heat, you guys. They may not have won Game 5 against the Boston Celtics, but gosh darnit, they gave it their all and tried their best. One day, they’ll look back on this game and know that they did the very best that they could. They probably deserve participation trophies, you guys.

That’s the message this kid seems to be sending, at least.

Mickael Pietrus more than did his part, pitching in 13 points, including two huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The SB Nation blog CelticsBlog points out that even before the Pietrus’ offensive outburst, he had been one of Boston’s unsung heroes of the series.

The Heat had just two players cross over into double figures in Game 5, and they were exactly the two you would guess. Once seemingly in firm control of the series, the Heat will bear criticism from all angles during a long offseason if they cannot pull out Game 6 on Thursday night. According to the Heat blog Peninsula Is Mightier, everyone needs to step their game up, from the stars to the supporting cast.

But Rondo scored only seven points on 3-15 shooting and committed five turnovers. The Associated Press recap of the game mentioned Rondo’s Game 5 performance exactly once -- a fourth quarter turnover where he inexplicably passed the ball to a teammate in the backcourt.

Make no mistake. Rondo had a huge impact on Game 5 when it mattered most, and without him the Celtics don’t take control of this Eastern Conference Finals series.

Game 6 of this series returns to Boston’s TD Garden on Thursday night. Can Pierce, KG and the rest of the Celtics banish LeBron and Wade from the postseason?

For more on the Heat, head over to Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For more on the Celtics, check out CelticsBlog and SB Nation Boston.

There are precious few moments in a basketball game where one player simply shoves it down another player’s face. We want to think they’re more, but for every posterization, every isolation, there’s always some team dynamic that preceded the play that was essential.

The thing about this play is that Pierce purposely worked a switch to get James on him. He wanted to go right at James, and really, he wanted to nail a three-pointer in James’ face. So, Pierce worked the clock down, jab-stepped, then somehow found enough room to get a clear look at the rim over James’ outstretched arm. Nothing but the bottom of the net.

LeBron James just spent four possessions standing in the corner watching Dwyane Wade do fancy dribbling moves. He then got the ball and got his layup stuffed by Kevin Garnett.

These last few possessions illustrate why the James clutch debate is a debate.

Dwyane Wade has played the first three quarters of this Game 5 like his knee is still hurt. He’s playing the fourth quarter like his knee is just fine. Just ask Brandon Bass.

This eventually led to a Celtics three-pointer because of a heads-up play by Rajon Rondo to get the ball to Mickael Pietrus, but it was cool nonetheless.

Surprisingly, James Jones is playing pretty good defense. I’m actually shocked.

On the last three possessions, LeBron James has five points. Here’s how the points break down.

Plays in which James caught it on the move, then finished: Two points.

Unsurprisingly, Jeff Van Gundy was beaming about the play Norris Cole made to chase down Rajon Rondo and pick up the steal. It’s true that, if the Heat come back to win Game 5 against the Celtics, this may well be the catalyst.

But I just can’t get over how fast Cole was running on this play.

Consider all that happened in the final couple minutes:

1. LeBron James allows Kevin Garnett to run right by him on the fast break, leading to a Garnett slam.

The Celtics keep clawing their way back into the game thanks to the brilliance of Rajon Rondo, as usual. The Heat have once again switched their coverages on him, electing to send hard traps his way. The problem? Rondo is turning the corner on them, giving him passing lanes to find his big men for layups.

Those traps by the Heat simply have to be better.

Dear Amar’e Stoudemire,

Halloween is four months away.

Rajon Rondo can be so, so brilliant. Then, he can do something like this.

I give up trying to understand Rajon Rondo.

For the second time in this game, the Celtics have switched to a match-up zone defense. Former Timberwolves, Pistons and Wizards coach Flip Saunders has been helping the Celtics out during the playoffs, and this is the kind of defense he often likes to play.

Earlier, it worked. Now, it’s not, because just like any zone defense, it has major limitations that can be exploited after a matter of time. It stole some possessions for the Celtics in the second quarter, but by now, Miami has realized where they need to cut to create openings. It’s time for Doc Rivers to put a stop to it.

In contrast to the Celtics, the Heat’s defense is spending too much time staying at home on shooters. Whereas Miami has had major issues finding driving lanes, the Celtics are beating the Heat with a simple pick and roll between Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett.

Rondo is making some great passes, to be sure, but the lanes are open because Garnett is driving unimpeded to the basket.

For more on the Heat, head over to Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For more on the Celtics, check out CelticsBlog and SB Nation Boston.

The Miami Heat still lead at halftime, but the Celtics have gotten back into this game thanks to some really strong help defense. It would probably be inaccurate to say the Celtics are playing a zone defense, but it’s not too far off. Really, they’re playing man-to-man, but instructing all five guys to keep a toe in the paint to shut off all dribble penetration.

The defense is very reminiscent of what the Oklahoma City Thunder did to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. The difference? The Spurs rotated the ball from side to side, while the Heat are watching and surveying with poor spacing. There’s a reason LeBron James told ESPN’s Doris Burke that moving the ball would be a major point of emphasis for the Heat in the second half.

OK folks, poll time. Which player has the more effective saliva?

Chris Bosh (from last year)?

Did anyone think Mickael Pietrus would actually make this wide-open dunk? Be honest.

It’s an interesting question that Erik Spoelstra must figure out in the second half. So far, Chris Bosh has nine points and three rebounds in his return from injury, but most of that has been with Kevin Garnett off the floor. This is by design, but with the Celtics chipping away at the lead, how much will Bosh play against the Celtics’ best guys?

A better question: how much should Bosh play against the Celtics’ best guys. His post defense and overall floor positioning has been a bit shaky because of the long absence.