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| Jesus Shuttlesworth is back in Boston, but this time he's wearing the enemy's colors. |
Yes, he's back, and as he said in the Bible...
...wait, that's Jesus Christ. I apologize, I was mistaking him for Jesus Shuttlesworth.
Regardless, Ray Allen, LeBron James, and the rest of the big, bad Miami Heat come to Boston for the first time this season.
This game was supposed to be about Allen's return to Boston as a member of the dark side. Instead, this game is about the Celtics (20-23) looking to find their way and trying to snap out of their longest losing streak since 2007.
The Celtics desperately need to get off the schneid, and a victory over the best team in the conference would be a great place to start. But, it will most certainly not be easy.
Miami (28-12) had been slumping to start the new year, going 3-4 in their first 7 games of 2013. Miami's mini rut coincided with Boston's six-game winning streak, and the Celtics shrunk the Heat's lead in the Eastern Conference to 4.5 games. However, Miami comes into today's matinee winners of four straight and have expanded their lead over the 8th place Celtics to 9.5 games.
These teams know each other very well, having squared off 21 times (including the playoffs) since the 2010-2011 season.
Here's a preview:
Projected lineups:
Heat:
Mario Chalmers
Dwyane Wade
LeBron James
Udonis Haslem
Chris Bosh
Celtics:
Rajon Rondo
Avery Bradley
Paul Pierce
Brandon Bass
Kevin Garnett
Keys to the game:
1. Pick your poison: The Celtics can do one of three things: a.) choose to shut down LeBron James, which would leave Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh free to roam, b.) pick on Wade, but that would mean leaving James and Bosh open, or c.) cover Bosh, which would leave arguably the two best players in the world open. No matter which path the Celtics decide to take, the point is that each option comes with its own pros and cons. We've seen James take things into his own hands when he saved Miami's season in Game Six of last year's Eastern Conference Finals in an epic, one-for-the-ages playoff performance in which he compiled 45 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists in 45 minutes. Wade has had his share of big moments too, and Bosh was the x-factor when he returned in Game Five of last year's conference finals. So, if you're the Celtics, what do you do? Doc Rivers and the Celtics should shift their attention to Wade. Avery Bradley only played two games against the Heat last season, and in those two games, he was the primary defender on Wade, and he held Wade to 39.5% from the floor. This season, Wade has not been the same player as he has been in the same. This season, Wade's scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and free-throw percentage numbers are the lowest of any season with the exception of his rookie season. Bradley will be more than up to the challenge of guarding one of the best in the game, and if he defends Wade the way he did last season, the Celtics will be in good shape.
2. Take away the three: This is by no means a way for me to mention Ray Allen, but stopping Ray is going to be crucial. 24.4% of Miami's points come from three-pointers, the seventh highest rate in the NBA, and it all starts with Allen. For the season, Allen is shooting 44.3% from beyond the arc, which is good for fifth in the league. As a team, Miami is shooting 38.6% from long range, good for third-best in the league, and they boast six players who shoot better than 37% from distance. With all this in mind, it is of utter importance for the Celtics to be near-perfect in their perimeter defense.
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