Heat / Celtics Match Up: Eastern Finals

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If you were wondering what that strange noise Saturday Night was, It was the collective sighs of National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern, and the Television executives after The Boston Celtics put away the Philadelphia 76'ers in game seven of their semi-final Conference Championship. The last thing you, me or anyone wanted to see, was a 76'er, Miami Heat Eastern Final. That would be a little like watching grass grow.

Although the Boston Celtics struggled to close out Philadelphia, I think they will provide a formidable match up for King James and the Miami Heat, especially if Chris Bosh is still injured and not available for this series.

If Bosh is out, I think Miami coach Erik Spoelstra will have trouble finding someone on his bench that can defend Kevin Garnett. Even though Garnett is getting long in the tooth, he is a great jump shooter, and is tough to defend in the low post, and is a great defender and re-bounder.

LeBron James and D Wade will need to continue to play at the level they were playing since the game three dust up with the Indiana Pacers. They will need to retain that intensity as well as continue to get some points out of the back up cast in South Beach. As great as they are, they need for Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem to step up and make some shots. Some sign of life from Mario Chalmers wouldn't hurt either.

As far as the Celtics are concerned, the health of Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are always a concern. Although I think Rajon Rondo is a great point guard, I don't look for him to shoot the 3-pointers like he did in Game 7 of the Semi's. Without that scoring help, it will have to fall on Ray Allen to carry the load, and I'm just not sure his ankle is healthy enough to carry them through this series.

I think the Miami Heat will win this series, but it won't be a 4 game sweep like it should be, but I look for it to go six or seven games. If Bosh come back, the series will be over sooner. Bosh is the key to the whole thing.

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