HEAT WILL MAKE THE FINALS

ONLY IF THE CELTICS LET THEM.

The formation of the Miami Heat’s three-headed monster already has basketball fans anticipating their NBA Finals match-up against the Los Angeles Lakers next summer.

It would certainly make for an enticing match-up as only the thought of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, two of the league’s most exciting players, challenging the legacy of Kobe Bryant is already enough for a mouth-watering Finals showdown.

It’s safe to say that the Heat, in all likelihood, will be a dominant ball club for years to come. The initial concern about possible chemistry problems between Wade and James is nothing to worry about, as they are simply too good to not find a way to co-exist. They will run the show down in South Beach, and do it extremely well.

Even with two of the NBA’s best players, however, this dominance will only occur in the regular season. It won’t go further into May, let alone June because of one team that will stand in the Heat’s way — the Boston Celtics. In other words, it’s not likely that the so called “Super Team” will even have a chance at preventing Bryant from getting his sixth ring, and the Lakers from winning three straight titles.

What raises skepticism in Miami’s quest for a title in the upcoming season is the team’s lack of depth in the low post. While the game out in the perimeter can still be dominated by individuals, the current scarcity of dominant big men in the NBA has forced a paradigm shift, and the battle in the paint is now won with depth.

Since the conclusion of the Tim Duncan-led San Antonio Spurs dynasty in 2007, the teams that have lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the last three seasons had a solid three- or four-man rotation at the power forward and center positions. The Celtics’ rotation in 2008 consisted of Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe, and PJ Brown. The Los Angeles Lakers won the next two championships with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom patrolling the painted area.

If Dwight Howard, the game’s most dominant big man, succumbed to the pressure of taking on the Celtics’ deep frontcourt, how will Chris Bosh, who is evidently softer and less defensively intimidating, survive a seven-game series against the same frontcourt that got even better and deeper over the summer? The Celtics more than compensated themselves for Rasheed Wallace’s retirement with free-agent signings of Jermaine and Shaquille O’Neal, both of whom have more left in the tank than Wallace did at the dawn of last season.

The Celtics against Bosh will only have to do what they did to Howard and the Orlando Magic last season in the Eastern Conference Finals. Howard, with no support, was helplessly forced to crumble against the depth of his opponents. Amazingly, the Celtics were able to contain Howard and win the series rather comfortably without any of their big guys putting up great numbers individually.

Even Bosh, the best post presence on this team, has conspicuous flaws to his game and needs role players who specialize in traditional post defense. While the natural talent and skills are evident, the former Toronto Raptor is sub-par defensively and relies excessively on playing away from the rim offensively. Had the Heat acquired a top notch defensive big man in the mold of Marcus Camby or Brandon Haywood, the prospect of making the Finals would’ve been far better, but general manager Pat Riley had to settle for free-agent Zydrunas Ilgauskas and re-signing Udonis Haslem.

Granted, Haslem’s toughness and Ilgauskas’ skills are resourceful attributes respectively. Neither of them, however, are proven commodities in a playoff match-up situation against the league’s cream of the crop. Haslem, with his championship experience from 2006, might be the closest thing to what this team needs, but playing alongside an unorthodox big man in Bosh against a rugged Celtics’ frontline is a different ball game compared to having (Shaquille) O’Neal who’s a prototypical center while playing against Dirk Nowitzky and the Dallas Mavericks, a team that was famously nicknamed a “soft cake” by Charles Barkley.

Now add to that every championship contending team this season each having at least one All-Star caliber player who can neutralize Bosh and cancel him out of the equation. Not to mention the Celtics, in particular, have two legitimate players on the wing in Ray Allen and Paul Pierce to match up against Wade and LeBron. For the Celtics, making up for the departure of Tony Allen who has been a pesky defender against the league’s top perimeter players will be no small feat, but keep in mind that the “Super Team,” in return, has absolutely no answer for Rajon Rondo.

All this brings to a conclusion that the Heat will not make the Finals, unless the Celtics let them. Joel Anthony is not talented enough to be a solid role player on a championship caliber team despite having the defensive trait which his team desperately needs. Dexter Pittman has built his reputation of being a solidified defensive big man during his years in college, but will need a few years until he realizes his promise.

The Heat will have to sign or trade for a first class defensive center at some point to be the clear-cut favorites in the Eastern Conference. This, of course, is assuming that Riley isn’t patient enough to wait a couple of years until the Celtics’ veteran roster is completely washed out.

I’ve been waiting for the Doc to slip up. Beneath the formalities and smiles, there lay the brooding vengeance of the Irish.

"They still have not beaten our starting five. Our starting five against the Lakers starting five has a ring. Tell him don’t forget that. We will be back strong and Perk will be there next year if there’s a game seven."

- Doc Rivers on ESPN 980

I knew you had it in you, Doc. The bitter rivalry never truly ends with a firm handshake and a congratulatory gesture of respect.

Game 7 was a close one. Never have I stood frozen in one place for two straight quarters as my co-workers stared at me like a Edvard Munch’s Scream reprint. Too close. What a fine line that win was. It was only a four-point victory, but those four points determined fate like Judgment Day.

I re-watched the game a month later, never failing to utter my usual string of profanity in spite of my foreknowledge of the outcome. No matter how I look at it, it was a ghastly performance. Have you forgotten? Pau was 6-16 and made 7-13 free throws. Young Bynum with his overaged knees made one basket in 19 minutes. Odom went 0-3 from the arc, with 7 points in all 38 minutes. Even Kobe was well below his average with 25% shooting.

How did we win? Nothing makes sense on paper. Celtics were 40.8% from the field to Lakers’ 32.5% and 37.5% from the threes to a measly 20% for the Lakers. Even on free throws, we trailed by 20.6% to the Celtics’ outstanding 88.2% team shooting. So how do you explain a four point loss after what appeared to be a terrific display of team basketball?

I really can’t say. Steve, my journalist friend, always tells me that Lakers are all about grinding it out. Maybe that’s what happened. Despite the Lakers’ top 3 players producing below 40%, and Kobe’s off-night in the most critical game of the year… Lakers "grinded it out." Can you still credit the loss to the absence of Kendrick Perkins? Hardly. Wallace was impeccable as a replacement, especially with that clutch three in the fourth quarter.

And if you do press on with that argument, then what would have happened if Kobe was not playing on a myriad of injuries? What if Bynum had been healthy, and scored more than two points? What if Pau had made his free throws, like he usually does? Does Professor Farnsworth really need to run this by the What If machine (for all you Futurama fans)?

Celtics brought their A game (with the exception of Allen) and it wasn’t enough. Simple as that. Perkins had never scored beyond single digits in the series, except in game 2. Even then, Bynum managed to pound 21 points in the paint with Perkins guarding him. And in light of Doc’s starting five comment, don’t forget that in 2008, Bynum and Ariza were both injured throughout the series, so technically the Celtics starting five never beat the Lakers starting five either. I’m sorry, Doc, but your arguments are invalid here. Let’s not bother the professor.

Now, 2011 is a different story. I think it best to remain humble, but let’s break it down for a second. Shaq is one away from 40 this year, and the other O’neal is injury-prone. Add another year to KG, Pierce, and Allen, and you can almost start a 35 and over club. In a time when they should be considering bench roles, the big three will be starting another season of 82 games, logging a heavy 30-minutes per game. I suppose Doc forgot to mention that we’re not playing baseball here. You can’t play in tip-top shape till you’re 40.

So here’s a rebuttal for you, Doc. Celtics lost the one chance to beat the Lakers while Bynum hobbled on one knee, Kobe was shooting with four fingers, and Pau was choking on free throws like bad broccoli. Need I mention that the Celtics are older than last year? There won’t be a game 7 next year. There won’t even be a match up. Come June, we’re either going to have a rematch with Magic or finally let Nike go through with their cutesy Kobe and Lebron muppet show in the finals.

But we welcome your challenge. It’s another reason to eagerly wait for the season to start. No need to cry, Doc. It’s water under the bridge.

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