Either way, the Heat open the season against the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics, in Boston B-T-DUB. This is a big deal. I mean Boston is still relevant and seemingly a contender. Pierce and Allen came back for another shot and let's not forget about Doc Rivers returning to the bench, maybe for the last time, assuming he leaves to watch his kids grow into lil' Docs.
Concerning Boston and Miami: The Game
Stupid Idea #1: "It's a must win/defining game for Boston/Miami
There will undoubtedly be those analysts who will somehow make this game a season defining contest for one team or the other. Let's run down the scenarios:
a) Boston has to win. Some will say Boston has to win because they are at home and if they want to show that they are still a dominant force and contender in the East, they need to assert their dominance against the up and coming Heat.
That's bullshit. As we saw last year, the Celtics may be the most sporadic team in the NBA. Yes this will be a big game, but whether Boston gets blown out or wins by thirty, this game will not define anything.
b) The Heat have to win. I actually like this one. It would seem that after an entire summer of putting together possibly the best trio of NBA talent ever, the Heat would need to come out and win this first game. Not only that, but they have to do it with ease against a Boston team that is supposed to be old, weak (without their starting center) and lacking the talent to keep up with the Wade County All-Stars.
The funny thing is, if the Heat lose the game, the media will explode. I guarantee we are going to hear, "OMG IS THIS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE HEAT?! SHOULD THEY TRADE CHRIS BOSH FOR JAMARIO MOON?! THE CHEMISTRY JUST ISN'T THERE!!!!"
Well, no. I predict that if the Heat lose this first game, they go on to win at least ten straight. After that we will be hearing, "OMG ARE THE HEAT THE BEST TEAM EVER?!" See? There is no in between for this squad.
Stupid idea #2: The game is about LeBron vs. Boston
No it's not, shut up. As we all "witnessed" last playoffs, LeBron had a less than stellar final two games as a Cav. And please, before you get all crazy and angry about me pointing that out, please look at almost every other game he's played. Including the playoffs years before. There's a reason he was voted MVP twice in a row. LeBron played brilliantly, BRILLIANTLY, in the first series and throughout the regular season, TWICE! The man could take over games, he never needed to be clutch because he would give the Cavs a 20 point lead going into the fourth. He was probably the most rested star player in the playoffs and he was playing great basketball. You're telling me that after those two very strong games against the Celtics that he all of a sudden just had two bad games? And we're not exactly talking stat-wise yet. It's the fact that he had been in close game situations before, been in losing situations before, yet, this time, he didn't attempt to will his team to a win. LeBron never quit on the Cavs before that, when things got rough, he turned it up to some insane basketball level which only he and Kobe Bryant are able to achieve and he MADE things happen.
The Celtics are good defensively, but come on, for whatever reason LeBron did not go as hard as he had the postseason before, nor did he flip the switch that we were all used to. We're talking about the MVP here and if you want to give the excuse of "his team sucks" for those last two games, let me know when they were good. Because if we're talking about the same team here, they won at least 60 games in the past two seasons, because LeBron willed them to it. Why could he not do it that last two games, during the PLAYOFFS! Dwyane Wade's top sidekick can definitely take a game over. Let him have one bad game, that's ok, but two back to back in that fashion. No thanks.
OK, back to my point. The pressure is going to be on LeBron this game. Or atleast that's a good story to lean on. My point is, with his poor performance in those last games against Boston, people are going to say, "LeBron has something to prove!" Thus wild predictions will be made about what LeBron will do.
This is all just a joke. You know what LeBron will do? He's going to come out and quietly have one of the best games of his career. While people will be expecting him to show up and jack up shots and absolutely embarrass the C's, I highly doubt it will go down that way. The game is going to be all about Wade, just like most of the season. Wade is going to be doing the slashing, scoring, getting to the line and starting the breakaways. LeBron? He is going to sit on the perimeter, dish inside to Bosh, kill it by hitting Wade on backdoor cuts and drive and kick to Mike Miller for threes. As far as points, he's going to hit some jump shots, drive in a few times and finish on put backs. On the defensive end, say goodbye to Paul Pierce. "The Truth" is going to be a non-factor and Bron will grab quite a few boards. In short, Wade steals the show, but LeBron is going to be extremely efficient. 28 points, on at least 59% shooting, 9 assists and 13 rebounds. The big issue? He's not going to force anything. The offense will flow through D Wade and Bron is going to love not having to overexert himself.
Stupid idea #3: The Heat win, game over NBA!
If the Heat win this game, there will no doubt be a wave of praise for D-Wade and the fellas. People will praise D Wade for being the leader and core of the team. His sidekick Bron-Bron will become the most humble player ever as he put aside personal glory to win an NBA championship and Chris Bosh? He will become the de facto "We should've been talking about this guy for the last 3 years" guy and replace Lamar Odom as the "Ultimate X-Factor."
That's all fine, but the thing is, this one game won't decide any of that. There are too may matchups in the NBA that could possibly put the Heat in a losing position. Maybe they match up well with Boston, but not Dwight Howard in Orlando. Maybe they can slow down the New Jersey Nets, but the Phoenix Suns are just too much. They might be able to get by with their slightly weak bench against Cleveland or Charlotte, but not against Dallas or Portland. What about the Lakers' clear size advantage? This one game versus Boston will be a fun game to watch, but otherwise, it's not an indicator of anything. Unless it comes down to the last shot and LeBron blocks D Wades jumper and puts up a brick. That might be bad.
