The Answers Fix Of The Celtics

It's been a while since I've posted but now is as good as a time as any. The C's
are in a bad spot. How do we fix them? Whats the best move?

Every end of the season and trade deadline for the last three years we've heard
the phrase, "blow it up." Well it sounds attractive and exciting but I ask the
same question I ask when teams fire their coach…are you making moves to make
moves or are you really improving your team? In the Celtic's case, blowing it up
makes no sense at all. The reason for this is, what's the end game? KG and Paul
Pierce make too much money for other teams to pay, the Celtics over pay just a
bit because of what they mean to the locker room and the city. However, any
contender would want KG, but at what price? This Blake Griffin nonsense isn't
even worth responding too.

In the case of Paul Pierce I say you keep him. The guy can still score the
basketball, but but he can't be your number one option. I say keep him because
of the loyalty factor, what he's done for the organization, and at a certain
point, a guy earns the right to stick with his team. (similar to Kobe in LA)
Having said that, I don't have to pay him. His contract calls for him to make 15
million next season, with only 5 million guaranteed. That 15 million really is
more 40 million because of the tax, and the Celtic's being repeat offenders.
Paul Pierce certainly isn't worth 40 million so I get the justification in
wanting to rid yourself of that massive bill. However, getting rid of Paul
Pierce gives you no more cap room to make any moves, you're really just shedding
15 million in cap room, 25 million in taxes, and getting the C's under the tax
line going into the 2014-15 season which brings the penalty back to a dollar for
dollar, as opposed to being over the tax for a third season and paying a two for
one rate on the tax….still with me? The tax shit can be confusing, but it breaks
down like this;

its a dollar for dollar tax
the second consecutive year you break the tax it goes to a two dollar per one
dollar you're over
and the third year year it goes to three to one.

Get it? Good.

So this ties Danny Ainge's hands big time here. So how do we improve the team.
Lets look at the options.

OPTION 1.

Well you can look at the glass half full, and say Rondo and Sully come back.
That improves the team greatly. Jason Terry will be more comfortable in the 6th
man roll. Jeff Green gets better by the day. Avery Bradley will actually get to
go through training camp. This is just the natural growth of the team and you
can honestly say given all that, your team will be much better. They are about a
5 seed with that roster unless Jeff Green becomes a super star, which is
doubtful. I think this makes the most sense, it's the lead risky, and this team
has proven that when healthy, in the playoffs, they can do some wild shit.

OPTION 2.

Make some minor trades. Courtney Lee makes about 5 million bucks. This makes him
very tradable although I'm not sure who would want him. I'f I'm Danny Ainge, I'm
gonna call up my good friend Rob who I just endorsed for the GM of the Suns and
say listen Rob, I'm gonna give you Courtney Lee, my first round pick for Beasly
and Kendell Marshall. WHY? Well I'll tell you. Michael Beasly can ball his ass
off. He can really do it all. His problem is off the court and in his head. The
Celtics are the perfect place for this type of player. If Doc and KG can get
this kid in line he can be huge for us now and down the road. It makes him the
backup to Jeff Green, and we can move Paul Pierce over to the 2 spot which takes
him off of the best athletes in the league. It;s a smart move all around.
Kendall Marshall is a poor mans Rondo. He's a passing wizard who can't shoot.
This gives us two young players who help for the future. What did we lose? Lee,
and a mid level pick in the worst draft in recent memory.

OPTION 3.

Trade Avery Bradley. I know, I love him too and defensively we wont get much
better. But His stock is high around the league and I don't see it getting any
higher. The guy will never be a scoring threat, and we need offense. He's
undersized at the 2 guard spot, and has proven he can't play point guard. So
what you have here is a guy who has value, but we can turn him into something
more. What we can turn him into remains to be seen. I'd live to see them bring
in some offense. Maybe make a trade with the Utah Jazz and try and get a
Millsap, Favors, or Jefferson. Any of those three guys will do. To make the
money match we'd need to throw in Lee, a draft pick will probably be needed to
make the deal, and possibly Fab Melo.

OPTION 4.

Try and get Cousins. To do this you'll have to wait for the dust to settle with
the Kings and where they'll be playing and who owns them. But once that happens,
they need just about everything. A package of Avery Bradley and Jeff Green would
be the minimum needed to get a player like this. It's a super risky move because
Demarcus Cousins is an asshole. Again, the Doc Rivers, KG, effect always applies
with the assholes of the league so thats not the worry, my worry is you trade
offense for defense and we lose the depth at the wing spot we really need. But
if this is an option, I say do it. The Celtics need to address the rebounding
issues badly and this would do it for sure. This move would require us to
acquire another wing player to play behind Paul, but thats not as hard to find
as you may think.

OPTION 5.

Trade Paul Pierce. Now, when people hear this they think Clippers. I'm not sure
that makes sense because I really don't want Eric Bledso. He's a baller, but
he's not Rondo. He need to be a starter somewhere else. In fact The Kings would
be a perfect spot for him so don't be surprised to see the Clippers make a run
at Cousins as well. Paul Pierce would need to bring back young players that can
help right now. This is the only way it works. Again, Utah comes to mind with a
Derrick Favors. But really it's a contender that would want Pierce and I just
don't see many of those around the league who have young assets besides Golden
State. With them, I don't see them parting with Harrison Barnes or Klay
Thompson, but both would do the trick. But assuming they would I'd take Barns
and Bogut for Pierce.

OPTION 6

Blow it up and try and get Andrew Wigins. Stupid idea and would never work.

OPTION 7

Trade Rondo. I think this would be so stupid. But it's always getting brought up
so lets discuss it First you have to ask yourself who replaces him at the PG
spot? Maybe with this thought you do the Pierce for Bledso and Jordan trade, so
now you have a PG. But who does Rondo bring back. First of all, Rondo is coming
off an ACL injury , so his stock is low. Secondly, I don't see a team that needs
that type of PG that has what we'd want in return. Maybe if the Celtics could
get Al Horford and Josh Smith from ATL for Rondo and a package of bull shit, you
could give that a shot. The problem is I think the Celtics value Rondo higher
than the rest of the league because of how he's grown here. When he needs to be
the number 1 scoring option I'm not sure how he'll be. I'm not sure this option
would work out in their favor at all. If you trade Rondo, you might as well
trade KG and Pierce too.

My vote is do some minor deals and keep the core in tact. If you can pull off a
heist of DeMarcus Cousins, you pull the trigger on that for sure.

Ainge Expects Doc and KG back

Alright, so the band is coming back together. Smart play here by Ainge, I think Ainge knows that there is no way he can be able to pull off another monster KG/ Ray Allen deal so the best thing is to bring the band back together and hope that with a little luck from the draft and free agency we can build a rotation that will compete, and if they don't compete then by the deadline you ship everyone. Simple as that.

Doc Rivers was going no where, everyone knows that, Stephan A Smith just decided to be a typical NBA analyst and just throw shit at a wall. It's obvious that this team is very passionate about winning and losing and Danny is right, after the season, give them their space and just let it be for now.

Since the C's are tight on the cap they are really limited to what they can do.

What Do The Celtics Do Now?

The NBA cap is really confusing and I don't get it. However, everything I have heard is that if KG and PP are gone, the Celtics are still at the 60 million dollar cap. So I'm basing this post off that being true.

So before all of you get emotional and say blow it up we need to think of what the smartest thing the Celtics to do and remaining competitive.

First and foremost, I want to keep KG and Pierce. It's true, both are old and cannot play the minutes and do what they did in the past. However, nobody is going to give us anything for either. We aren't going to get a young star back for either, I would imagine that the KG for DeAndre Jordan/ Eric Bledsoe deal is off the table. Also, KG has a no trade clause and has made it very clear that his and Pierce's future are tied together. If Pierce is gone, KG will most likely go, but both Pierce and KG have also made it known they would rather stay with the Celtics. So the Celtics should do just that, keep them. We aren't going to get any better without them.

Secondly, Rondo is coming back. Nobody is going to trade a lot for a guy coming off a knee injury so it's worth it just to hold onto him. Rondo is the best PG in the league and I think they everyone can admit now that the Celtics are a much better team with him than without him (as the captain pointed out nicely yesterday). I guarantee that if Rondo played against the Knicks we wouldn't have only beat them, we would have swept them. The Celtics offense became stagnant, you were asking Avery Bradley to play out of position which he obviously wasn't great at doing and was a giant part of why the Celtics lost. Rondo would not only make Pierce and KG's life a lot easier out there, but Bradley would be a lot more effective offensively with being able to have off the ball cuts, Jeff Green would be able to run more, and I bet even Courtney Lee wouldn't have been as awful if he was playing with Rondo.

So I know this makes for a boring offseason, but why not stand pat and hope that with the return of Rondo, hopefully Jeff Green stays into the player he was turning into, Bass builds off his great post season, Bradley will get better, Jared Sullinger comes back and is back to his garbageman game, Fab Melo turns into a rotation player and the Celtics can grab someone like Dgieng out of Louisville at 16 and hopefully that works out.

I would rather be a 6 or 7 seed then out of the playoffs and completely rebuilding any day.

Captain's Thoughts: Why the Celtics Lost

I'm not the most astute observer of basketball, but I do think I know why the Celtics were eliminated by the Knicks.

#1: No Rondo
Everyone who once suggested that the Celtics were better without Rondo should be forced, for one year, to wear hats and shirts that quote that absurd theory. Rondo has been especially good in the playoffs, and his ability to run the offense was a stabilizing factor that would have prevented some of the runs that the Knicks went on in this series. Losing Rondo lost this series.

#2: Age
This is an old team. Small bumps and bruises become nagging injuries. Pierce and Garnett didn't have enough gas in their tanks to play 40 minutes of great basketball every night. And it won't be any better next season. If they come back next season.

#3: No Depth
When the Celtics won in 2008 they had a good supporting cast for The Big Three. When they made other deep playoff runs, they had guys who could score, guys who could play defense. This year they had no random 25+ point nights from Ray Allen. They had Avery Bradley in a role he's not suited for (again, the Rondo injury). In Game 6, only Jason Terry scored points off the bench. When Pierce and KG needed the most support, they received the least.

It might be difficult for the most optimistic Celtics fans to realize, but this team just wasn't that good. It was old, it wasn't deep, and even with a healthy Rondo I don't think the Celtics would be a match for the Heat. Not in a 7 game series. The C's were 41-40. They nearly pulled off an historic comeback in Game 6, but they lost this series in Game 1 when they scored 8 points in the 4th quarter. They lost this series in Game 2 when they scored 23 in the second half.

And now we enter a period of uncertainty for the C's. Rondo will be back. But what kind of team will be back with him? Pierce and Garnett can still play, however they can't be the centerpieces of this team anymore. And in the NBA, unless Rondo can become pals with other great players who decide to come here, or the Celtics get a #1 overall pick, it is very difficult to rebuild.

This might be the end of a mini-era for the Celtics.

-The Captain

92 Celtics, 86 Knicks

The Knicks are going to lose this series because of stupidity.

Last night the Knicks proclaimed they were wearing all black to their game, because it was going to be a funeral for the Celtics said Kenyon Martin. However, the Knicks were the ones that ended up looking foolish and giving the Celtics extra motivation for this game. The question is, who are the Knicks? What have any of these guys done? The biggest game Carmelo Anthony has played was the National Championship game at Syracuse and as for J.R. Smith his probably was in China during the lock out. The Knicks haven't won a playoff series in 13 years, and hopefully it stays that way.

Kenyon Martin finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds and 5 fouls, and JR Smtih was 3-14.

Jeff Green had an incredible 4th quarter. He had ten of his team high 18 points came in the final 12 minutes. His back-to-back threes inside three minutes were huge to hold off the Knicks. And that old man KG had a game for himself, 16 points, 18 rebounds and 5 assists. His 20-footer with 48 seconds remaining was the dagger. Paul Pierce didn't have the best shooting night, however, his 10 point 3rd quarter was great. And Jason Terry played phenomenal on defense? and offense with 17 points. But the MVP for the Celtics has to be Brandon Bass, he provided scoring with 17 points, but he played incredible defense on Melo. Melo started off hot by hitting 5-7 but finished the game shooting 3-17.

The biggest and continuous issue is Avery Bradley, as Raymond Felton has killed him all series. You know it's bad when Doc has to bring in Jason Terry as a defensive replacement for him.

And of course another vintage KG interview:

Celtics @ Knicks Game 5 Preview

So we are once again at that emotional game where it could be the Celtics last. Paul Pierce's contract next year is non guaranteed, and you never know when KG could walk away (I think both will be back). Yet, the Celtics have always been a tough out.

The Knicks won the first three games of this series, holding the Celtics to 75 ppg. In game 3 the Celtics scored 54 points in the first half and led by 20 early in the third quarter before they once again hit the offensive wall, and they were limited to just 30 points in the third and fourth quarters.

There is a ton of things going against the Celtics in this game. As I just stated their offense overall has been horrid. They have to go to NY, and JR Smith is back.

I am sure everyone and their mother are expecting this series to be over tonight. What have I learned from being a Celtics fan? Never count out Pierce and KG. I know there isn't much reason for hope, and the Knicks are favored by 8, but I still the Celtics win tonight.

Celtics win 94-92 (OT)
Tommy Award: KG
Game starts at 7:05pm

97 Celtics, 90 Knicks

At least we didn't get swept. The Celtics did the same thing they did in every game in this series so far and blew a giant lead and momentum going into the 2nd half. I just don't get it, at all. It seems like 2 different teams. I guess that is what it's like when you don't have a PG, but the Celtics escaped Boston with a W thanks to Jason Terry and some great defense on Carmelo.

It also could be the fact that the whole Celtics team was in foul trouble in the 3rd quarter. I believe at one point Brandon Bass(who has played great D against Melo), KG, Pierce and Green all had 4 fouls in the 3rd, which is ridiculous. Melo was at the free throw line 20 times and it seemed that he was getting a lot of BS fouls. The foul trouble has been killing the C's as well in this series.

Jason Terry had an outstanding 4th and overtime as he earned his contract. He had 7 points in overtime including a ballsy break a way 3 pointer. It felt good to win 1 and now the Celtics need to take it game to game.

I think the Celtics can make a some noise in NY and if they win in NY, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!

87 Knicks, 71 Celtics

I never thought that I would see this kind of lackluster performance from a Doc Rivers coached team, but this team is playing flat out awful. They play well in the first half, get tired in the second and can't score any god damn points. KG has been a pretty big disappointment on the offensive end, Pierce has been the most consistent but still needs to do more and Jeff Green was horrible last night. You know this team desperately needs? Rajon Rondo. It's funny, all the maniacs out there that said the team is better off without Rondo have seem to have disappeared.

In the previous game he would have made sure the offense didn't stay stagnant and last game the same thing. The Knicks figure out that we don't have a god damn point guard and so our offense is pretty one pass and shoot at times and it sucks. Plus Rondo is a big time playoff performer so missing his monster games kills the Celtics. I hope we can appreciate his skills a little bit more Boston fans.

As for last nights game again, the defense is doing fine. I have zero issue what they are doing on defense, but their offense is just miserable. Courtney Lee got buried last night and should stay that way. Jason Terry is just terribly inconsistent. I wasn't a giant fan of the officiating in the first half, but whatever, can't blame the officials for this one.

These 2 games have been mildly annoying to say the least.

Celtics @ Knicks Game 2 Preview

Everyone is talking about how the Celtics need to get KG going. It's true, but it's not the whole story. Listen, KG isn't what he was, he can give you some good games, but he is not what he is going to get you through these playoffs anymore. You know who is? It's Jeff Green.

Jeff Green had 20 points at half time last game, then he got tired and only scored 6 the rest of the way. Unacceptable, and it cost them the game. He needs to play aggressive all the time. They guy has the talent, he has wanted to be a key member of this team, now he is getting the chance and to be honest he kind of failed. He needs to step up. Imagine he he dropped another 15-20 points in the 2nd half? I believe he can do it, he has that kind of talent. If the Celtics suddenly have a guy that can drop 30 every game they become a scary team.

Garnett played in only five of the final 17 games of the regular season, my hope is that Game 1 was just him shaking off some rust. I do believe he will have a better night tonight.

The Knicks haven't held a 2-0 lead since 2000, and you can already hear some fear in their voices...

"Tomorrow we're approaching this game as a must-win," said Anthony, who scored 36 points in Game 1. "Here on our home court, we want to win this basketball game. We don't want to go back to Boston 1-1."

Sorry Melo, but the Celtics don't die easy, and I think they shake the rust off and take it to the Knicks tonight. Like I said from the beginning Celtics in 6.

Celtics win 92-88
Tommy Award: Green
Game starts at 8pm

114 Raptors, 90 Celtics

When Fab Melo gets 17 minutes you know the Celtics didn't give a shit about this game.

Doc coached this game perfectly, Pierce played 14 minutes, KG and Terry didn't play and no player that will have a huge impact against the Knicks on Saturday.

The good that comes out of this is I guess potenial X factor players Jordan Crawford, Terrence Williams, Courtney Lee all got a ton of burn.

Either way the best series in the playoffs begin Saturday.

The Celtics finish 41 - 40 on the season.

Celtics/ NBA, Bruins/ NHL do the Right Thing

Yesterday the Celtics cancelled tonights game with the Pacers and aren't going to make it up because it has no impact on the season and the Bruins postponed their game at the Garden last night.

A makeup date for Bruins-Senators was not announced; no other events from top professional leagues around the country were immediately called off.

This is a good proactive move by them incase this madness isn't over yet. To be honest, Bob and I are going to the Sox game on Friday and it is a little nerve wracking that we will be in a giant crowd on the same week as a terrorist attack. In my heart of hearts I honestly do believe this is over, but there is still always that thought in your mind, "what if".

But again, this was a great move by the NBA and NHL.

101 Nets, 93 Celtics

Deron Williams had a pretty good game huh? 29 and 12 from the dickhead PG. It's a shame seeing him do well because when Rondo plays he abuses him. Deron Williams looked the part last night though, I think a lot of the time the NBA media inflates how good he is, but he was just on a roll last night.

As for the Celtics, Pierce was the only one that decided to show up last night with 23 points, everybody else is in coast mode until the playoffs and that's fine with me, but I would like to see a couple of dominating tune up performances before the playoffs. If we are going to make a run we are going to need big playoffs from Crawford, Lee, and Jet.

It always pisses me off to lose to the Nets, but whatever, playoffs are coming.

Nets @ Celtics Preview

This game really doesn't matter. There are 5 games left in the regular season, and the Celtics basically know they are going to be either the Knicks or the Pacers (most likely the Knicks). So my main focus (and I would think the focus of Doc) is to get these guys ready for the playoffs. That means shaking off the rust for guys who have been hurt, while also keeping them rested.

I could really care less if they win this game. What do I want to see? I want to see Green continue to be aggressive. I would like to see Bradley start hitting shots, and I would like to see Pierce and KG play limited minutes but look good.

The Nets are basically in the same boat, but even more so. They are locked in that 4 seed and are going to be playing the Bulls in the first road. There will be a lot of stars on the court tonight, but I don't think either side is really going to be pushing it too hard.

Celtics win 90-85
Tommy Award: Green
Game starts at 8pm

107 Boston, 96 Wizards

KG and Pierce and everyone was back, but Brandon Bass stole the show last night. He was great with 20 points and 6 rebounds.

Randolph looked pretty good again and 7 points and 8 rebounds.

Pierce had 15 and KG had 12.

I don't know. It was pretty boring game, but the Celtics cruised. It was a good win. Let's see what they can do to get KG integrated into the offense.

98 Celtics, 93 Pistons

Even though the Celtics blew a 17 point lead, and even the KG situation seems like 09 all over again I need to stop and appreciate Jeff Green for a second. Jeff Green is worth every penny of the contract he got when we signed him to a 4 year, 26 million dollar deal. I guess I'm done questioning Danny Ainge. Jeff Green still may have inconsistencies about him, however, he has become a reliable scorer, defender and most importantly clutch. Jeff has come through in a lot of spots where Paul Pierce's number would be called and has come through and last night was yet another example. With the Celtics doing their best attempt to blow a 17 point lead, Jeff hit a dagger 3 with 45 seconds left to put the game out of reach for the Pistons.

Jeff had 34 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. I trust Green maybe 2nd on the team offensively and probably defensively behind Pierce and KG respectively.

Brandon Bass and Paul Pierce chipped in with 17 points each and Avery Bradley had 11. You know what is a really great topic of discussion? Who will be the more valuable Bradley to a Boston organization, Avery or Jackie? you can never take anything away from Avery's defense, but I am a little wary of his offensive ability. I don't know enough about Jackie yet, but with the hype surrounding him and the small sample we have seen of him up with the Sox, he can be a really good player.

One thing is for sure for the Celtics though, we need a healthy KG and Pierce if we want a shot against the Knicks or Heat.

110 Timberwolves, 100 Celtics

What the fuck was this Celtics?

God damn Nikola Pekovic drops 29 on you and there is nothing you can do?

This is your typical overlook game on a back to back nights. I don't care if we were missing Pierce, KG, Rondo, and Sullinger; this is a game we still should win in our sleep.

Everything about this game made me puke.

Paul Pierce Rolls His Ankle, Will Miss Some Time

You can start calling me Nostradamike because another prediction of mine based on my Crackpot Celtics Theory has come to fruition. In my last post I said:

"I wouldn't be shocked to see Paul Pierce take some time off to tend to a vague injury either."

4 days later, there he is with a rolled ankle. They're saying it's nothing serious and he should only miss one game, but I think they'll keep him out longer than that. They're up 8 games on the 76ers with 9 games to play. At this point they're realistically only playing for a 7th or an 8th seed. Some people are saying they expect the Celtics to do the bare minimum to secure the 7th seed so they can at least dodge Miami in the first round and most likely get the Knicks instead. I guess I can see that, it gives more time for Lebron and Dwayne Wade to get hurt and pushes a potential meeting with the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals (As I mentioned in my Crackpot Celtics Theory the NBA doesn't reseed between rounds, so if you beat the 2 seed you follow the path that the 2 seed would and play the winner of the 3 seed v. 6 seed matchup). Maybe the Bucks/Nets/Bulls/etc. will shock the world and take out Miami for us before the Eastern Conference Finals, but I'm not holding my breath. Without an injury to Lebron or Wade or a surprising upset I don't see the Celtics getting further than that. With Rajon Rondo they might have had a fighting chance, but without him I think the talent gap is just too wide and the Celtics are just too old.

108 Knicks, 89 Celtics

It's all fun and games until the Knicks don't miss a 3 pointer.

The Knicks knocked in 14 3 points out of 27 and the Celtics just didn't have a response.

The only ones who were worth a damn last night were Paul Pierce and Jeff Green.

Pierce had 24 points and 15 boards and Jeff Green had 27 points. Everyone else was just terrible. Avery Bradley's offense has disappeared, JET is very inconsistent and the same can be said about Jordan Crawford. Well I guess you can say that about the whole Celtics team to be honest, everyone is inconsistent and if this KG injury lingers like it did in 09, they will be fucked.

93 Celtics, 92 Cavs

See I leave and the Celtics go on a 5 game losing streak, I come back and they win and the Heat lose. All is right again.

Yes, it was the Cavs without Kyrie Irving, but hell the Celtics are without Rondo, KG and Sully so whatever.

The Celtics should have lost this game, they were playing awful for a majority of it, but came back in the 4th when they went on a 15-4 run to win the game on a Jeff Green layup with no time left.

Brandon Bass had a great game with 22 points, 5 boards.

Jeff Green had 21 points and 7 rebounds and of course the game winner.

Pierce flirted with a triple double with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists but had 7 turnovers.

A year ago today Jeff Green got a new heart and he hit the game winner and immediately ran up to the Doctor that performed the surgery, pretty good stuff. Hopefully this win gets the Celtics back on track.

Knicks 100 Celtics 85...I'm Still Not Concerned

So the Celtics lost again. That makes 5 straight losses for the Celtics. in my Crackpot Celtics Theory I said
"Now that the trade deadline has passed I'd expect the Celtics to do the bare minimum to make the playoffs". The Celtics are nine games up on the 9th seed Philadelphia 76ers with 12 games to play. They could lose every game for the rest of the season and the 76ers would still have to win 9 of 12 down the stretch to overtake them(even then they would need to win the right games to win the tiebreaker, they split the season series 2-2 so the next tiebreaker is conference win%). It's not impossible yet, but it's improbable enough that I'm not even remotely worried. Even if it gets close down the stretch they can bring KG back and flip the switch a little earlier. This is just the coast where they overreact to KGs "Knee Inflammation" and rest him up until the playoffs. I wouldn't be shocked to see Paul Pierce take some time off to tend to a vague injury either.

This is a pretty good example of the problem I have with the NBA playoffs. There are too many games and playoff seeding isn't relevant enough. Home Court in a deciding game is nice, getting a cupcake round 1 is nice, but it's nothing compared to being rested and healthy. I still don't think that the Celtics can beat Miami, but for them to have a chance they'll need to be fresh and healthy. I think this win streak is starting to take it's toll on Miami. They have the top seed wrapped up already, but they're still putting in 100% every night to keep this streak going. I think they might be able to catch a weary, overconfident Miami team off guard in the first round.