Game 9/82: Celtics (6-2) @ Heat (5-3) Open Thread:
Posted by Brendan Jackson on Nov 11, 2010
The Original Number 6
Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 104.4 points/100 possessions (22nd)
Miami: 109.2 points/100 possessions (6th)
Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 97.8 points allowed/100 possessions (5th)
Miami: 97.1 points allowed/100 possessions (1st)
Probable Miami starters:
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carlos Arroyo, Joel Anthony, Chris Bosh
Thumbnail:
The Celtics take on the Miami Heat tonight….and it’s time to treat this matchup as just another game on the schedule. The gratuitous fanfare needs to stop. That’s why we here at CelticsHub are just going to put up this preview/open thread like we do for every other game.
The Celtics will try to make it 2-0 against the formidable Heat. In their first meeting, the Celtics took full advantage in the middle getting solid contributions from Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Garnett. Similar to opening night, the Celtics will be without former Heater Jermaine O’Neal. This time, however, the other Celtic big men are more hobbled. ShO’Neal has been out of commission for a few weeks with a bruised knee and it has just been reported that Semih Erden has sustained a shoulder injury that may require some offseason surgery. With the Celtics’ perceived strength in the middle neutralized, tonight should be a far more competitive game.
In fact, tonight should be far more competitive for other reasons as well. The Heat are playing better. Each superstar has been working to adjust their game to fit their required role with the team. This has not entirely translated to wins for the Heat but they do look noticeably better on the court.
WHAT THE HEAT DO WELL:
Defense. This has been quite the surprise of the early season. The Heat currently sport the highest defensive rating in the NBA. The Heat’s collective athleticism has really proved the difference on the defensive end as they have been able to successful smother people on the wings and pack the paint.
3P%: Again, another big surprise of the season is the Heat’s prowess from beyond the arc. When shooting guard Mike Miller went down with a hand injury right before the season started the Heat were expected to take a big hit in the three point percentage department. Well, they didn’t. Instead, they rank third in the league in three point percentage shooting 41.5% from beyond the arc.
WHAT THE HEAT DO POORLY:
Offensive Rebounds. The Heat have the 6th fewest offensive rebounds in the entire league- one spot worse than your Boston Celtics. Obviously offensive rebounds and wins are not directly proportional considering the Timberwolves lead the league in offensive boards. Still, they can help.
PLAYER(S) WHO MAKE ME WORRY:
LeBron James. When James joined the Heat everyone doubted how the three superstars would coexist. Both Wade and James were volume scorers on this league and many believed their would not be enough possessions in a game to go around. James has molded himself to the rest of his Heat teammates perfectly averaging 20.6 points per game. 8.6 assists, and 5.5 rebounds. Before this season is all said and done, James could be close to averaging a triple-double.
Dwyane Wade. Wade has been a man possessed in the past three games averaging 32 points. Ray Allen should have his hands plenty full tonight.
PLAYER(S) WHO DO NOT MAKE ME WORRY:
Chris Bosh. In eight games Bosh has only averaged 6.4 rebounds per 36 minutes. This is a far cry from the 10.8 rebonds per 36 minutes he posted last year. This is hardly the type of glass work the Heat expected to see when they signed Bosh this summer.
WHAT WE WAN TO SEE FROM BOSTON TONIGHT:
Bounce Back. The Celtics lost a close one and pseudo-heartbreaker the other night against the Dallas Mavericks. Losing a game by two points on the second night of a back-to-back is not something the Celtics want to endure– especially when their next opponent is the Miami Heat. In hindsight, the Celtics would have been better off sitting their entire starting lineup and take a shellacking. A loss is a loss and the Celtics are going to need everyone’s best effort not to incur one tonight.
Go Inside to Shaq Early and Often. This is a strategy that paid dividends in their first meeting and it would behoove the Celtics to employ it tonight. Shaq is coming off a nagging injury and who knows how much effort he will be able to sustain. If the game is close in crunch time, he won’t be on the floor anyway.
PREDICTION:
Tonight’s game is going to be a toss up. The Heat are coming off a tough loss to the Utah Jazz and the Celtics are coming off a tough loss to the Dallas Mavericks. This game is going to come down to heart and the Celtics have more of it.
Celtics 102, Heat 100
*All statistics were taken from Basketball-Reference.com
The Ticker