Three things we learned in Miami’s 93-79 victory over Boston in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals:
Wade and James
There are two reasons to fear the Miami Heat: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Both players proved those fears legitimate Monday night, when they combined to score 54 points in the Heat’s 93-79 win. With Avery Bradley out of the lineup, there’s no perfect option to guard Wade, and that was evident from the start. Wade got to the basket with ease – too much ease for a postseason game – and when he wasn’t going strong to the hoop, he was playing defense on the other end that resulted in multiple double teams that led to Celtics misses.
KG and . . .
The Celtics really needed to make a statement to start the game that their offensive woes against the 76ers were in the past. That statement never came. Instead, just one player found the bottom of the basket in the first six minutes of the game – Kevin Garnett. KG has been the team’s most consistent player in the postseason, with spurts of solid play from others. That got them this far, but it’s not going to get them any further. Ray Allen went just 1-for-6 from the field, and more shockingly, 3-for-7 from the line. Pierce scored just 12 points while Rajon Rondo added 10. Not going to cut it, fellas.
Refereeing not the issue
I know what some of you’re thinking: “The referees blew this game! The game was fixed!”
You’ve got an argument with a few of those Celtics technical fouls that came in the second quarter, but the Celtics lost this game because the Heat played better on both ends of the court. Boston shot just 37.5 percent from the field, while the Heat converted 51.9 percent from the field. And if you were counting on any help from the Boston bench, keep counting: Greg Stiemsma added six points and four rebounds, and that was about it.
