Boston Celtics (4-0) at Miami Heat (4-1)
Sunday, May 1
3:30 PM ET
Playoff Game #5 Road Game #3
TV: ABC
Radio: WEEI, WAXY
American Airlines Arena
Referees: Not yet announced
This is the matchup that everyone assumed would happen from the opening night of the regular season when they faced each other. There are so many sub-plots in this series and there is sure to be plenty of drama. The Celtics won 3 of 4 from the Heat in the regular season, losing only their last game when the Celtics were in the midst of their end of the year mini-slump.
For LeBron James, this has to be personal. First of all, he hasn't been able to get past the Celtics in the playoffs since the 2007-08 season. The Celtics embarrassed LeBron's Cavs in last year's playoffs as they were expected to steamroll through the playoffs but came up short as LeBron put in sub-par performances due to either his boo-boo elbow or his mother's indiscretions, depending on who you believe.
The Celtics bench, in spite of being loaded, played poorly against the Knicks. In 3 of the 4 games, Doc was forced to play the starters more minutes because the bench was giving up leads and not playing well. In the 4th game, the bench finally started to play well and even increased the lead when they were in. The Celtics will need strong play from Big Baby, Jeff Green and Delonte especially. Hopefully a few good days of practice will help them play up to their capabilities. Shaq's status is still up in the air as is the status of both Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller for the Heat.
It will be important for the Celtics to get off to a strong start in this game and in the series. They need to get the first punch in and not let up. They need to keep the Heat on their heels and not allow them to gain confidence in this series.
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