Hollinger says "Heat will breeze past us easily in the second round"

[Papatrichs]

I see someone has a death-wish.... again.

[chambers]

more motivation from a no-nothing basketball 'analyst'.
Forget our 3-1 record against the heat haha this guy is predicting the heat will beat us another 4 times in a row, making it 5 straight.

This guy might want the C's to win and is motivating them because he's gotta know that they'll hear about this.
Probably got some money on the green machine.

[BASS_THUMPER]

dat dude smokin rocks

[action781]

I disagree with some of this.  Yes, they have mediocre role players, but they're a good team.  I think you're underestimating their ability to build / hold leads; they led the NBA in point differential this year.

Obviously, they're a shallow team led by their best three players.  However, those three players are extremely talented, and all three (yes, even Bosh) can take over a game.

I think this is our toughest playoff series.  If we win this, I feel confident that the Celtics can and will win the championship.  However, this is going to be a very tough series.

I agree and disagree with you here, Roy.  I whole heartedly agree that this will be our toughest playoff series of the playoffs.  People here are vastly underestimating the sheer talent on the Heat.  The sheer talent of Lebron James alone is enough to lead a team to the NBA Finals.  One thing that remains to be seen is how tough of heart they Heat are as a group.  It has been shown that the Celtics have the heart to win a title and the exact opposite can be said of Lebron and Bosh.  If the Heat trail 2-1 after game 3 (very plausible), then come out of the gates not hitting their jumpers and fall behind early in Boston in game 4, I think the series could be essentially over.

I disagree that Bosh is talented enough to "take over a game".  Not a playoff game against an elite talent at least.  His best playoff games of his life in games won are both first round games against Philly (game 1, 2011) and the Nets (game 2, 2007) in which he posted 25pt, 12rb and 25pt, 11rb respectively.  If Chris Bosh puts up those kind of numbers against the celtics, the Heat STILL won't win unless at least one of Lebron/Wade score 20+.  In which case, did Bosh really take over?  For Bosh to have "taken over a game" I'd say he needs to score 30+, otherwise he's a complementary player.  He's only once in his career scored over 30 in the playoffs, it was a loss.  If he can score 30, yeah, he takes over.  I don't see that happening against Garnett though. 

If you say Miami has three players who can take over a game, then Boston has at least 4.  At least Boston has 4 who have all proven so more than Miami's third has.

[kozlodoev]

Am i the only one who doesn't think the Heat are that good? Man, that team is overrated. I have watched the Heat all season, and they never blow anyone out. They blow leads. They can't close games. Their role players are mediocre, etc. We beat this team 3 times this season. We lost the 4th game when we were in full on slump mode. The C's would have lost to just about every team in the NBA at that point. I don't know who will win the series, but i'm sorry, i have no fear of the Heat whatsoever. The LeBron Cavs scared me much more than this Heat team does.

I disagree with some of this.  Yes, they have mediocre role players, but they're a good team.  I think you're underestimating their ability to build / hold leads; they led the NBA in point differential this year.

Obviously, they're a shallow team led by their best three players.  However, those three players are extremely talented, and all three (yes, even Bosh) can take over a game.

I think this is our toughest playoff series.  If we win this, I feel confident that the Celtics can and will win the championship.  However, this is going to be a very tough series.

I was listening to WEEI on my way home from work today, and every caller they put through believed we can't lose 4 games to the Heat.

I don't understand this. I can easily see this thing going 4-0 to the Heat with each game looking like the last meeting from the regular season.

Now, this is probably not going to happen, but I don't understand how anyone who saw Carmelo Anthony going off against us won't consider Wade and James doing this for multiple games in a row.

[action781]

Am i the only one who doesn't think the Heat are that good? Man, that team is overrated. I have watched the Heat all season, and they never blow anyone out. They blow leads. They can't close games. Their role players are mediocre, etc. We beat this team 3 times this season. We lost the 4th game when we were in full on slump mode. The C's would have lost to just about every team in the NBA at that point. I don't know who will win the series, but i'm sorry, i have no fear of the Heat whatsoever. The LeBron Cavs scared me much more than this Heat team does.

I disagree with some of this.  Yes, they have mediocre role players, but they're a good team.  I think you're underestimating their ability to build / hold leads; they led the NBA in point differential this year.

Obviously, they're a shallow team led by their best three players.  However, those three players are extremely talented, and all three (yes, even Bosh) can take over a game.

I think this is our toughest playoff series.  If we win this, I feel confident that the Celtics can and will win the championship.  However, this is going to be a very tough series.

I was listening to WEEI on my way home from work today, and every caller they put through believed we can't lose 4 games to the Heat.

I don't understand this. I can easily see this thing going 4-0 to the Heat with each game looking like the last meeting from the regular season.

Now, this is probably not going to happen, but I don't understand how anyone who saw Carmelo Anthony going off against us won't consider Wade and James doing this for multiple games in a row.

We still beat the Knicks while Carmelo went off against us.  If we can withstand that on a night when our bench played absolutely horrific, I think there's a good chance we can go 1-1 in games if Wade or James go off for 40+.  Is this really going to happen more than twice in a 7 game max series? 

[chuckitup]

 Playing Miami...we bring the "A" game. Did you read Bill Walker's quote about us being hungry. Well KG's looking at Bosh right now like a juicy steak. Think about how JO put the shoulder to Lebron in the last game. :-). Nobody's "Breezin'" us off the road to 18...nobody!

[guava_wrench]

Am i the only one who doesn't think the Heat are that good? Man, that team is overrated. I have watched the Heat all season, and they never blow anyone out. They blow leads. They can't close games. Their role players are mediocre, etc. We beat this team 3 times this season. We lost the 4th game when we were in full on slump mode. The C's would have lost to just about every team in the NBA at that point. I don't know who will win the series, but i'm sorry, i have no fear of the Heat whatsoever. The LeBron Cavs scared me much more than this Heat team does.

I disagree with some of this.  Yes, they have mediocre role players, but they're a good team.  I think you're underestimating their ability to build / hold leads; they led the NBA in point differential this year.

Obviously, they're a shallow team led by their best three players.  However, those three players are extremely talented, and all three (yes, even Bosh) can take over a game.

I think this is our toughest playoff series.  If we win this, I feel confident that the Celtics can and will win the championship.  However, this is going to be a very tough series.

I was listening to WEEI on my way home from work today, and every caller they put through believed we can't lose 4 games to the Heat.

I don't understand this. I can easily see this thing going 4-0 to the Heat with each game looking like the last meeting from the regular season.

Now, this is probably not going to happen, but I don't understand how anyone who saw Carmelo Anthony going off against us won't consider Wade and James doing this for multiple games in a row.

We still beat the Knicks while Carmelo went off against us.  If we can withstand that on a night when our bench played absolutely horrific, I think there's a good chance we can go 1-1 in games if Wade or James go off for 40+.  Is this really going to happen more than twice in a 7 game max series? 

Beyond that, we also should not generalize from Melo's performance. He didn't play any differently from his poor games. It was just that his bad shots fell in game 2. Our defense was fine. Melo's performance in game 2 was fool's gold and that style of play averages out to being a loser.

Lebron and Wade are extremely dangerous and Bosh is extremely solid. Considering that if they play 40 mins each, they are eating up a large % of team minutes and depth is a bit less relevant.

[Spicoli]

The problem with the Heat will always be the fact that Wade and James are redundant. They're the same type of player. Nothing really differentiates their games whatsoever. If we put together a gameplan to stop Wade, that same gameplan will work against James in the same fashion. You essentially knock out two birds with one stone. I will always be more fearful of a "team" than i am of a couple really good players. The Bulls play as a team. The Lakers play as a team. The Mavs play as a team. The Heat play as 3 individuals. Again, even if they somehow beat the Celts, which may very well happen, i have no fear of the Heat whatsoever.

[BASS_THUMPER]

james will choke against us like he did last year

[Spicoli]

james will choke against us like he did last year

TP. Pretty much. James is a choker. I'm not worried about him doing anything in the clutch to win a series.

[GreenEnvy]

Assuming the Heat close out the Sixers, I hope even more "experts" pick the Heat, and I hope all the Celtics see it.

I want our team mad. Put a chip on their shoulder.


But I don't know why everyone is getting up in arms about Hollinger of all people. His playoff formula also doesn't care about wins because they are still irrelevant to him. A team can go 3-4 in a series but they are a +6.5, which indicates future success. O wait....

I'd be shocked if the guy watches any games.


Can't wait to face the Heat.

[Bart Scott voice]CAN'T WAIT![/Bart Scott voice]

[Dante]

There is going to be a rude awakening for those Celtic fans that the mistakenly believe that Heat of yesterdays is going to be the same Heat team we are going to battle pretty pronto. Of course, if they beat us we will certainly blame the refs and Stern, but amigos, this Heat team is loaded with talent and are a lot younger than we are. The have the legs and are not as beat up as we are. We dont know if JO'slegs can suddenly go kaput on us. We may win this one, but Ill be happily surprised if we do. The Heat is loaded and can put it in the basket all night long, a little easier than we can, and that is all it takes.
 If we had had the horses, we would have certainly tried to get the best record in the NBA, but we are no longer as good as we were in 2008. The excuse that we were saving our legs, is nonsense. We just didnt have the team to have the best record. No we dont have that home court advantage. We didnt have it last year and we lost the last 2 games away from home. Maybe we would have lost anyways, but in 2008 home court did it for us. Dont argue against success. Now we dont even have that traditional edge cause we just couldnt get it. Lets hope we still have a miracle or two in our legs and on our sharpshooting. We will need everything and a little more.

[BASS_THUMPER]

There is going to be a rude awakening for those Celtic fans that the mistakenly believe that Heat of yesterdays is going to be the same Heat team we are going to battle pretty pronto. Of course, if they beat us we will certainly blame the refs and Stern, but amigos, this Heat team is loaded with talent and are a lot younger than we are. The have the legs and are not as beat up as we are. We dont know if JO'slegs can suddenly go kaput on us. We may win this one, but Ill be happily surprised if we do. The Heat is loaded and can put it in the basket all night long, a little easier than we can, and that is all it takes.
 If we had had the horses, we would have certainly tried to get the best record in the NBA, but we are no longer as good as we were in 2008. The excuse that we were saving our legs, is nonsense. We just didnt have the team to have the best record. No we dont have that home court advantage. We didnt have it last year and we lost the last 2 games away from home. Maybe we would have lost anyways, but in 2008 home court did it for us. Dont argue against success. Now we dont even have that traditional edge cause we just couldnt get it. Lets hope we still have a miracle or two in our legs and on our sharpshooting. We will need everything and a little more.

 is charle murphy in here cause it's darkness all around us...

[celticslove]

There is going to be a rude awakening for those Celtic fans that the mistakenly believe that Heat of yesterdays is going to be the same Heat team we are going to battle pretty pronto. Of course, if they beat us we will certainly blame the refs and Stern, but amigos, this Heat team is loaded with talent and are a lot younger than we are. The have the legs and are not as beat up as we are. We dont know if JO'slegs can suddenly go kaput on us. We may win this one, but Ill be happily surprised if we do. The Heat is loaded and can put it in the basket all night long, a little easier than we can, and that is all it takes.
 If we had had the horses, we would have certainly tried to get the best record in the NBA, but we are no longer as good as we were in 2008. The excuse that we were saving our legs, is nonsense. We just didnt have the team to have the best record. No we dont have that home court advantage. We didnt have it last year and we lost the last 2 games away from home. Maybe we would have lost anyways, but in 2008 home court did it for us. Dont argue against success. Now we dont even have that traditional edge cause we just couldnt get it. Lets hope we still have a miracle or two in our legs and on our sharpshooting. We will need everything and a little more.

Younger is an understatement but loaded is pushing it. After their 2 1/2 men you got nothing but scrubs on that team. Playoffs is a different ballgame i think the Heat are in different series now.