Heat aren't scared of anyone right now. if anything they'll play with more effort for the teams they respect like the C's.
that's not even accounting for their ability to count on the refs to bail them out of a losing effort.
I can't agree. With KG out Heat only beat the C's by 2 points. That is hardly playing with better effort. They should have won by double digits. They let Green go off for over 40 points. Green is great but you can hardly put him in the league of Lebron or Kobe. If the last game is indication of the Heat playing with 'more effort' they should definately be afraid of the Celtics.
here's a more realistic perspective from the Heat's side.
Green had the game of his life, Lee finally had a decent shooting game. only Bradley had what would really be an off night and even without KG, the C's were still holding their own on the boards. AND YET, the Heat still won because the C's are not capable of closing out a game despite all their veteran experience.
KG doesn't scare them. he's not a shotblocker. he's not the rebounder he was in 2008 (he doesn't block out and he can be beaten to the ball ala Davis in the NO game). He's not the consistant shooter he was a couple of years ago either.
The only player the C's have that Miami has an issue with is Rondo and he's not playing this year. even with Rondo, the Heat wouldn't be scared of this team.