Even though the playoffs don’t start until April 17th, the Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics game on Sunday absolutely had a postseason vibe. The final meeting between the two teams in the regular season held playoff implications so it was important for Miami to come out and establish a tone as the Celtics lead the season series
Not only did Miami respond with authority, they made sure to let the Celts know that there is no fear pumping in those Heat veins (including the demure Chris Bosh).
Late in the 2nd quarter on a Heat fast break Jermaine O’Neal hit King James with a hard shove that had nothing to do with trying to retrieve the ball, LeBron decided to show that he IS Gloria James’ baby boy and respond by throwing the ball at Jermane’s back. This of course led to the familiar pushing and posturing that is the NBA “fight”.
While that was going on DWade and The TRUTH (that’s Paul Pierce to the uninformed) had their own little shoving match as each team was out to impose their mental footprint on the other.
Once the commotion was settled, Jermaine was charged with a flagrant 1, LeBron, Dwyane and Paul each received a tech.
And even Chris Bosh got in on the displays of Machismo getting a tech after the ref missed a call.
Perfect time for the Heat to develop this swagger. They’re still competing with Boston for that #2 seed in the East. But this win did a lot to pour some confidence in the Heat’s tank. Heat win 100-77.
Will the Celtics be able to pull together a return to the finals with the way they’ve played as of late? Bulls locked up the #1 seed and played a great game against the Magic (minus Dwight Howard and Quentin Richardson, both are serving suspensions) with another MVP worthy performance from Derrick Rose, question is will it be enough to get them to the finals.
7 days until the playoffs!!
curtsy to jose3030 for the video
