Zachary GirsbergerFirst Impressions: Heat at Celtics
October 27th 2010 19:04
Category: No Category
While I am nowhere near as versed in the NBA as I am with certain other sports, I am able to pick up certain things that others may not, due to their vested interests in the game. While the game between the Heat and the Celtics is probably going to draw as much attention this week as game one of the World Series, jumping on the column bandwagon isn’t forbidden.
The game itself was a little surprising, with the Heat starting off very slow (9 points in the first quarter) and Boston, even with their additions, looked to be fully in sync. Imagine five years ago someone said that there would be a team that started Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, and a top three point guard as well as having Jermaine O’Neal and a former first rounder on the bench. Five years ago this team would sound like the Miami Heat are considered today (potentially), a super team. Now with age, Rondo is arguably the best player on the court for Boston (which sounds quite a bit like the NBA version of the 2010 Yankees, a bunch of older storied veterans and a rising star in Cano.)
Focusing on the Celtics first, because Rondo is my favorite player in the league (he plays like no other player in the league) and also they did win the game 88-80, proving they as the defending Eastern champs that they are still the team to beat. Shaq looked solid in limited minutes (9 points, 7 boards in 18 minutes) but Jermaine O’Neal didn’t look to be nearly as in sync with the rest of the offense (1 point, 2 boards in almost 13 minutes). Rivers starting Shaq and relying more on Big Baby will probably be the way it goes until Perkins gets back, and when that happens, I would not be surprised if Jermaine gets the axe—barring substantial improvement.
From what I saw in the game, much of what was predicted to be true about the heat has come to fruition, they will have trouble with size. If the Heat played no games versus the Celtics, Magic, and Lakers, I would say that they would have no problem winning nearly, if not, seventy games, but the fact that the schedulers didn’t decide to grace Miami with the only exceptions in the NBA, the Heat will fall short of the magic seventy. Do not misinterpret me though, I still think the Heat will be a top three team in the East once they get familiar with their playing styles and continue to play solid defense like they did versus Boston.
Both teams head on the road today (Boston at Cleveland, Miami at Philly), so there will be no down time after what the TNT announcers insisted was a ‘playoff-like game.’
The game itself was a little surprising, with the Heat starting off very slow (9 points in the first quarter) and Boston, even with their additions, looked to be fully in sync. Imagine five years ago someone said that there would be a team that started Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, and a top three point guard as well as having Jermaine O’Neal and a former first rounder on the bench. Five years ago this team would sound like the Miami Heat are considered today (potentially), a super team. Now with age, Rondo is arguably the best player on the court for Boston (which sounds quite a bit like the NBA version of the 2010 Yankees, a bunch of older storied veterans and a rising star in Cano.)
Focusing on the Celtics first, because Rondo is my favorite player in the league (he plays like no other player in the league) and also they did win the game 88-80, proving they as the defending Eastern champs that they are still the team to beat. Shaq looked solid in limited minutes (9 points, 7 boards in 18 minutes) but Jermaine O’Neal didn’t look to be nearly as in sync with the rest of the offense (1 point, 2 boards in almost 13 minutes). Rivers starting Shaq and relying more on Big Baby will probably be the way it goes until Perkins gets back, and when that happens, I would not be surprised if Jermaine gets the axe—barring substantial improvement.
From what I saw in the game, much of what was predicted to be true about the heat has come to fruition, they will have trouble with size. If the Heat played no games versus the Celtics, Magic, and Lakers, I would say that they would have no problem winning nearly, if not, seventy games, but the fact that the schedulers didn’t decide to grace Miami with the only exceptions in the NBA, the Heat will fall short of the magic seventy. Do not misinterpret me though, I still think the Heat will be a top three team in the East once they get familiar with their playing styles and continue to play solid defense like they did versus Boston.
Both teams head on the road today (Boston at Cleveland, Miami at Philly), so there will be no down time after what the TNT announcers insisted was a ‘playoff-like game.’
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