• A lot of demons put to rest in this one. LeBron James failures versus the Celtics in the past, Dwyane Wade being ousted in Round 1 for the second consecutive year, the entire Eastern Conference quaking beneath the jack boot of the Boston Celtics for the last 3 years. The Celtics’ demise reached a fitting end. Out-executed down the stretch and dismantled by a Miami Heat team built to defeat them. Gotta feel good for the guys. Gotta feel good for this most fortunate of funerals. DING DONG the witch is…DEAD.
• “KING” James’ performance in this one will talked about as an example of “clutch” performance, only reserved for the Jordan’s, Magic’s and Bird’s. His shot making was nothing short of miraculous as well as clutch. His nerves were in check as he Could. Not. Be. Denied. The without a doubt, finest basketball player since Michael Jordan. He just added yet another item to the evidence vault.
• As for this game, the Heat got off to a slow start yet again. Mike Bibby was just not aggressive enough to justify more minutes, but his shooting is still worth another “wait and see” moment. Starting Joel Anthony hurts the Heat more than it helps. Whatever you get as far as energy, you give up as soon as THE WARDEN gets in foul trouble. Anthony in foul trouble was a bad sign early, but you must give a lot of credit to Juwan Howard for his defense and his veteran grittiness which was called upon in this contest.
• Ray Allen was the consummate Hall of Famer, coming up big in the clutch and making big shot after big shot to keep the Celtics within reach with victory. He was also all class as he shook hands with all of the Heat and imparted some wisdom with Mario Chalmers at center court in what seemed to be a pointed discussion. Delonte West and Coach Doc Rivers were also classy in defeat as they shook hands and offered congratulations for the win of this series. On the other hand, Kevin Garnett was approached by Chris Bosh and offered a tepid congratulations and Paul Pierce basically went on a dead sprint to the lockeroom almost one year after he offered his condolences to Dwyane Wade after he delivered a 4-1 defeat in last years first round. We know what is what. NOW.
• Fitting that professional clown Bill Simmons (ESPN) is made a moron for this result, and that flat out mediocre to bad people like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce cannot offer any graciousness. Other media members that were made a fool of from this result include Jon Barry, Bill Reiter, Mike Wilbon, and Brian Windhorst who after spending a year covering this team, thought the Celtics would turn away the Heat in 6 games. In Brian’s case, it has more to do with the pathology of being a Cleveland homer than being a basketball realist. Well, who cares? We do. After reading and hearing the rubbish those and many more put out.
• Back to the game. The Celtics dug in like champions, riding a valiant effort by KG in the first quarter, and Ray Allen’s shooting to keep in touch and hold a lead over the victorious Heat. In the end, the rebounding edge and speed advantage the Heat exploited throughout was too much for the Celtics to overcome. Rajon Rondo was a detriment to the Celtics offense and Delonte West played very well as a substitute. The truth is/was that Boston was overmatched in this series, and age was not a factor. The Celtics could not play any better while shooting high percentages and still lost on this night. The officiating could not get any more favorable in Game 4 and the Celtics still spat up their advantage. The Heat thoroughly outplayed Boston and earned a well deserved victory.
• My hope for Shaquille O’Neal is that he does not inflict any more damage to his legacy and retire gracefully (as graceful as he can be). So the Bulls or Hawks await. Each pose special challenges but both pale in comparison to the team that was vanquished on this night. It was never a dream, it was a mission, and it is only half over now. 8 down, 8 to go.
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Love Bill Simmons chillin on the boat.