The Celtics turned up the D last night holding the Heat to 39.2% shooting from the floor as they closed out this series in Boston. Ray Allen led a nicely balanced offensive attack for the Celtics last night with 24 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Paul Pierce also had a solid game with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Rajon Rondo did a great job of running the offense with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists and 4 steals. Kevin Garnett also filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot. The Celtics won this series 4 games to 1 over the Heat and now they will have to deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers starting Saturday in Cleveland.

The Heat outscored the Celtics 30-15 in the 4th quarter of this game as they appeared to want it more. The Celtics couldn’t stop D-Wade who was like a man possessed as he scored 46 points against them today. Rajon Rondo led the way for the Celtics in this game with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals. Kevin Garnett looked like he was playing in the good ole days as he had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists. Paul Pierce (16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals) and Ray Allen (15 points and 3 assists) both pitched in offensively for the Celtics today. The Celtics are up 3-1 in this series now but they want to get it over as soon as possible so they can maybe get some rest.

The Celtics won on a clutch shot from Paul Pierce with time winding down despite allowing the Heat to shot 50.6% from the floor. Paul Pierce was the star of the show in this game finishing with 32 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Ray Allen was also very solid with 25 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists. Rajon Rondo was solid running the offense finishing with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. Kevin Garnett pitched in with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. The Celtics are up 3-0 in this series.

The Celtics took it to the Heat last night as they held them to 38.2% shooting from the floor and they outrebounded them 50-33. Ray Allen turned back the clock to lead the way for the Celtics last night with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Glen “Big Baby” Davis got the start in K.G’s. spot and he excelled last night with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Paul Pierce didn’t have his best game as he finished up with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Kendrick Perkins was tough around the basket with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots. The Celtics are now up 2-0 in this series as it shifts to Miami over the weekend.

The NBA has suspended Kevin Garnett for game #2 against the Heat for elbowing Quentin Richardson in the face during an altercation in game #1. Garnett played 33 minutes in the first game of this series finishing with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Rasheed Wallace will likely start at power forward tomorrow night against the Heat. He played in 14 minutes in game #1 against the Heat and he had 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot. This could be huge as the Heat will match up better against Wallace then they did against K.G. Rasheed Wallace will have to rise to the occasion like he has in the past tomorrow night for the Celtics.

The Celtics outscored the Heat 21-10 in the 4th quarter and they held them to 39.7% from the floor which explains the scoreboard. Paul Pierce only shot 4 of 12 from the floor but he led the way for the Celtics with 16 points and 5 rebounds. Kevin Garnett filled up the stat sheet with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot in this game. Tony Allen was outstanding off the bench for the Celtics in this game with 14 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. Rajon Rondo only shot 4 of 11 from the floor but he finished with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals. The Celtics are now up 1-0 in this series.

This will be a interesting first round matchup as the best player on the court plays for the Heat (Dwyane Wade) but the next best four players are on the Celtics who have home court advantage. Here is a breakdown of this series:

Point Guard: The Miami Heat had trouble at this position all year long before settling on Carlos Arroyo as the starter. The team took off with Arroyo at point guard but D-Wade usually still brings the ball up the court and he runs the offense. Arroyo played in 72 games (35 starts) for the Heat this season and he averaged 22.0 minutes, 6.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He will likely have huge issues trying to defend Rajon Rondo in this series.

Rajon Rondo is they guy who makes the Celtics go both offensively and defensively. He played in 81 games (all starts) for the Celtics this season and he averaged 36.6 minutes, 13.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Rondo is just too fast for Arroyo both offensively and defensively so this will be a mis-match.

EDGE: CELTICS

Shooting Guard: Dwyane Wade is one of the best five players on the planet and he will have little problem abusing Ray Allen in this series. D-Wade played in 77 games (all starts) for the Heat this season and he averaged 36.3 minutes, 26.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Wade will be getting to the basket at will so the big men of the Celtics better be willing to help Allen on D. Wade will be audtioning for free agency in the playoffs so look out Celtics.

Ray Allen still is a solid ballplayer. He can still drain a open jumper but he is not a good defender. Allen played in 80 games (all starts) for the Celtics this season and he averaged 35.2 minutes, 16.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Allen has to make D-Wade work on defense or he’s really going to go off. I think Allen will get his far share of points in this series.

EDGE: HUGE FOR THE HEAT

Small Forward: Quentin Richardson is going to have his hands full trying to deal with Paul Pierce. Richardson played in 76 games (75 starts) for the Heat this season and he averaged 27.4 minutes, 8.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He can get hot from the outside at times and the Heat hope that Q-Rich will make Pierce work on defense.

Paul Pierce has been the go to man for the Celtics this season. He has played in 71 games (all starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 34.0 minutes, 18.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. This will be a big advantage spot for the Celtics as Pierce is just a bigger and better ballplayer than Richardson is.

EDGE: CELTICS

Power Forward: Michael Beasley of the Heat is more of a small forward playing the power forward position. He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Heat this season and he averaged 29.8 minutes, 14.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. I see Beasley playing like a small forward in this series trying to outrun Kevin Garnett and make him guard him outside.

This isn’t the same old K.G. as he is starting to play like a old man. He just doesn’t have the hops he used to but I think he will be plenty motivated with the playoffs here. Garnett played in 69 games (all starts) this year for the Celtics and he averaged 29.9 minutes, 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. The Celtics would be smart to get the ball down low to Garnett where he will have a height advantage on Beasley.

EDGE: CELTICS

Center: Jermaine O’Neal is a crafty veteran who knows all of the tricks. He played in 70 games (all starts) for the Heat this season and he averaged 28.4 minutes, 13.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. The Heat need to be aggressive on offense and get the ball down low to O’Neal in an effort to get the bigs of the Celtics into foul trouble.

Kendrick Perkins has been outstanding this season for the Celtics. He does all the dirty work around the basket. Perkins played in 78 games (all starts) for the Celtics this year and he averaged 27.6 minutes, 10.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.7 blocked shots per game this year. The Celtics don’t draw many plays for the big man as he gets most of his points off effort.

EDGE: EVEN

BENCH: The Heat don’t have a deep bench but they will play what they have against the Celtics. Udonis Haslem is the best player the Heat have coming off the bench. He is a hustle player doing all of the little things that help teams win ballgames. Haslem played in 78 games (0 starts) for the Heat last season and he averaged 27.9 minutes, 9.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Backup point guard Mario Chalmers will also likely get a lot of P.T. for the Heat in this series. He played in 73 games (22 starts) for the Heat this season and he averaged 24.8 minutes, 7.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Dorell Wright is probably the second most athletic player on the Heat’s roster so he will likely get a chance to run around a bit in this series. Wright played in 72 games (1 start) for the Heat this season and he averaged 20.8 minutes, 7.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Look for SG/SF James Jones and C Joel Anthony to also get some P.T. in this series but I doubt either of them will make a big impact.

The Celtics’ bench is loaded with talent. It all starts with the feisty PF/C Rasheed Wallace. Wallace played in 79 games (13 starts) for the Celtics this season and he averaged 22.5 minutes, 9.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal per game. He might be starting to slow down a bit but I have a feeling that the bright lights of the playoffs will invigorate him. Michael Finley came over to the Celtics late in the season and he showed enough for them to give him some P.T. in this series. Glen “Big Baby” Davis got a late start to the season but he will also likely pick his game up a bit in the playoffs. Nate Robinson, Tony Allen, Marquis Daniels and Shelden Williams could all help out some in this series if needed by the Celtics.

EDGE: CELTICS

COACH: Erik Spoelstra is a head coach on the rise. He learned well coaching under Pat Riley and Stan Van Gundy before graduating to head coach. He led the Heat to a 47-35 record (57.3%) this season. He now has a career record in Miami of 90-74 (54.9%) during the regular season and he is 3-4 in the playoffs. He will be able to match X’s and O’s with Doc Rivers.

Doc Rivers led the ancient Celtics to a 50-32 (61%) record during the regular season this year. He is 280-212 (56.9%) during his six years as head coach of the Celtics during the regular season and he is 26-21 (55.3%) in his post season career leading them to a NBA Championship in 2007-08.

EDGE: CELTICS

PREDICTION: The Celtics have a few mis-matches to exploit in this series. I still see the Heat winning two games in this series. I’m taking the Celtics in 6 games.

25-year old undrafted guard Lafayette Oliver out of Houston got into 1 game with the Boston Celtics this season. He played 22 minutes for the Celtics in that game and he scored 7 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and he dished out 2 assists. It will be interesting to see if the Celtics bring Oliver back over the summer and give him a chance to make the team next season or not. Regardless, he made a nice first impression in the NBA.

The Celtics played last night without K.G., Ray Allen and Paul Pierce so it comes as no surprise that they lost this game. Rajon Rondo brought his A-game as he finished up with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 15 assists. Marquis Daniels got the start at shooting guard and he responded with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists last night. Shelden Williams filled up the stat sheet for the Celtics last night with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots. The Celtics finish the regular season with a 50-32 record and they will play the Miami Heat this weekend to open the NBA Playoffs.

The Celtics just couldn’t finish last night as they were outscored 34-25 in the fourth quarter by the Bulls and it cost them the game. Paul Pierce led the way for the Celtics last night with 28 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 33 minutes on the court. Ray Allen also had a good night offensively with 25 points and 3 rebounds. Kevin Garnett had a decent game with 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. The Celtics are now 50-31 on the season.