If those situations happen to be good moments, then most people don’t have a problem experiencing them again.  Of course, if they are events that lead to gunfire and people dying (a la “The Matrix”), then maybe that cat walking through the hallway is something you want to avoid.

Lebron James and the Miami Heat can't seem to make new experiences vs. the Celtics.

Similarly, the Miami Heat seem to have bad cases of deja vu this season whenever they play against guys wearing green jerseys with white “Celtics” lettering on the front.  Yesterday’s 85-82 loss in Boston reminded everyone why the Celtics are simply not afraid of the “Big 2 featuring Chris Bosh”.

Not only is yesterday’s loss significant because it gives the Celtics control of the #1 seed in the east, but it makes the April 10th game in Miami a must win game for the boys in South Beach.

If you talk to my colleague, Dr. Sports Fan, he may frown at my use of the phrase “must win” because it’s one of those phrases that gets thrown around liberally to get teams to find that hidden gear… but I say, “To hell with you, DSF.  The Miami Heat MUST WIN that game.”

Why?

Think about it.  If the Heat can’t beat Boston in the regular season, there is absolutely nothing that leads me to believe that Miami can do it in a seven game series in the playoffs — when Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, et al seem to always have that fourth, fifth and sixth gear.

Confidence remains an important quality to have when entering the postseason in any sport.  Lebron James and Dwyane Wade have little to be confident about as both men were bounced by the Celtics last year when they were on separate teams in the playoffs — a trend that may continue this year playing together if the Heat can’t figure this thing out.

Watching the Heat play yesterday, it was reminiscent of any pick up basketball game I’ve ever played at the local playground.  One guy has the ball isolated at the top of the key, and the next time around someone else would have the iso play.  Essentially it’s a modified version of the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James offense.  Lebron gets the ball, and everyone else stands around to watch.  It’s more like an And-1 Mixtape game rather than an NBA game.

The difference in Miami is that two players take turns with this philosophy — LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.  A strategy that doesn’t work against a team like Boston that plays outstanding team defense.  Not only do the Celtics play very well against the iso, but defenders stay home on their men limiting open shots when the pass comes.

Watching the Heat play makes me want to tear my hair out sometimes because I keep yelling at the television begging Lebron or Wade to make the extra pass instead of chucking up horrible shots.  I swear if the camera panned to Spoelstra every time a bad shot went up (about 80% of the Heat’s possessions), you could probably see him on his knees in prayer hoping the ball would go through the nylon.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I’m going to do it anyway.  Pat [Riley].  Erik [Spoelstra].  Who is the point guard of this team?  Do you realize that’s the difference between your team now and the team that owns you?

Rajon Rondo has been Boston's cool breeze when there's Heat in the arena.

When KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were assembled together, there was a little guy named Rajon Rondo that no one knew about.  The big question was if Rondo was good enough to handle playing with three superstars.  Of course, we found out the answer to that question: 10.6 ppg, 5.1 apg & 4.2 rpg in the Celtics championship season of ’07-’08.

Rondo, of course, has evolved since then (even if his jump shot hasn’t), and for obvious reasons — i.e. Miami’s lack of a point guard — Mr. Rondo has been Boston’s refreshing drink of water on a hot day dealing with the Heat:

• October 26, 2010 – 4 points, 17 assists
• November 11, 2010 – 8 points, 16 assists and this dunk
• Yesterday – 11 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists

Rondo has flourished in the immense spotlight of being the engine that drives the Celtics offense, but Miami hasn’t found the same lightning in a bottle.  They tried Chalmers at the point, and that failed.  Eddie House worked about as well as a square peg in a round hole.  Most recently, Lebron has been the point-forward of the team (a la Magic), and that has worked to an extent, but if you’re the Miami Heat, wouldn’t you rather have someone else distributing?

The Heat may get past the lower echelon in the Eastern Conference in the playoffs with the style of ball they’re playing, but it’s clear that doesn’t work against the Celtics or some of the other upper tier teams in the NBA — a group where Miami has a record of 1-6.

Clearly, there is a glitch in the Miami Heat’s matrix that needs to be corrected.  If no changes are made, then it’s hard for me to believe that this team is “the one” until they utilize more of the team based basketball the Celtics deployed to win their championship in year one.

52 combined NBA Finals appearances.

Needless to say, there’s a lot of history even without mentioning the historic individual rivalries like Magic vs. Bird and Kareem vs. ‘The Chief’.  All the history and rivalries come back to the main stage on Thursday night when the Celtics and Lakers tip off to begin their 12th NBA Finals head-to-head meeting.

Bird vs. Magic has become Pierce vs. Kobe in the latest chapter of the Lakers vs. Celtics rivalry, but will 2010 be a case of 'Same Story/Different Chapter'? (SOURCE: Sports Illustrated)

These days in the NBA, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Magic vs. Bird has now become Kobe vs. Paul Pierce, and the big man battle between Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol is equally legendary.  The Lakers, however, want to change what has happened nine times already in this Finals matchup … a Celtics championship.

A wise man once said, “It ain’t easy being green.” That phrase should be amended to say “It ain’t easy BEATING green.”  Ask the Miami Heat who were beaten in five games, the Cleveland Cavaliers — still in shock — in six games and the Orlando Magic who got eliminated in six games as well.  No one expected the Celtics to go this far (I admit, I had ‘em getting roasted by Miami).  Now that they’re here, I can’t bring myself to believe the Lakers can do what not even the best team in the NBA could do.

Why?

Well, let’s just start with a phrase that has been beaten to submission more times than the Washington Generals:

“Defense wins championships.”

I really (REALLY) hate to use that cliche, but it keeps ringing true.  Since the Celtics have the second best defense in playoffs (allowing 91 PPG and 42% FG), I have to wonder if 2008 will repeat itself.  Has anyone noticed what the Celtics have been doing to certain players who are supposed to be the second fiddles?  Miami’s Michael Beasley (10.2 PPG after 14.8 PPG regular season).  Okay, that’s not saying much, but allow me to bring up Antawn Jamison, who was supposedly the last piece of the puzzle: 15.8 PPG in the regular season, 11.8 vs. Boston in the semi-finals.  Last but not least, Vince Carter AND Rashard Lewis: 16.6 and 14.1 PPG in the regular season, 13.6 and 8.2 in the conference finals.  Kobe will get his 29 PPG, and Gasol may get his 18-20 PPG, but will Artest, Fisher and Odom get their 10-12 PPG?

Speaking of defense, the big question ringing in my ear is: “Who guards Kobe? Who’s gonna stop Kobe? How will the Celtics contain Kobe?”  Variations of that question are beginning to annoy me so I’ll simply answer with the name Ray Allen.  He did it in 2008 — some games better than others — and if he can’t do it, then Paul Pierce has and can do it.  Granted, Kobe is having a great playoff run (29.4 PPG), but that’s against the Thunder, Jazz and Suns … all relatively soft defenses.

Forget about who's guarding Kobe. The bigger enigma is who guards this man? (SOURCE: NBA.com)

Lakers supporters need to ask themselves a more important defense question: who guards Rajon Rondo?  You know, the guy who’s averaging 16.7 PPG and 10 APG this playoffs.  Derek Fisher?!?  Folks, if Goran Dragic can do this to Fisher, what’s Rondo gonna do?  The over/under on times Fisher’s knees spontaneously combust is 4 1/2 in case you were wondering.  This could be the series where the Lakers regret not having Trevor Ariza because you could theoretically stick him on Rondo and use Ariza’s quickness — an asset used to guard Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups in the ’08 Western Conference Finals.

Okay.  For the sake of argument, let’s say Phil Jackson just says, “Screw this. Kobe, you guard Rondo.”  That means that Ron Artest will likely guard Paul Pierce leaving Derek Fisher to guard … GASP! … Ray Allen!  No problem.  Ray Ray’s only making 42% of his three pointers in the playoffs.  Lakers fans have no reasons to start soiling themselves at all.  (My quota for sarcastic comments has been filled.)

Lest we forget these are also the same fans who are telling me that the Lakers are more physical with the additions of Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum.  Are we’re talking about the same team whose players have to be bribed to take offensive fouls?  If it takes a cool, crisp Ulysses S. Grant for your players to take a charge, the level of physicality of your team may just get called into question.  Face it.  The Lakers just aren’t a physical team.  They’re a finesse team.  Both the team and their fans have to accept it.  By the way … since Bynum’s knee is filling with more unwanted fluid than the Gulf of Mexico, I don’t think he’s going to be too much of a help against Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Rasheed Wallace or any other big man Boston throws in the paint.

No matter your reasons for picking Los Angeles, or in my case emphatically choosing Boston, there’s no secret this Finals will be greatly contested.  Both games in the regular season were exciting games that were won by one point.  In each of those games, the road team won bringing me to another point on my belief of another Boston sports parade (You greedy sons of *&!%$).  The Celtics won two games in Cleveland where the Cavs were an NBA best 35-6 and won two games in Orlando.  The Lakers were the best home court team in the Western Conference, but Boston has proven they can win on the road.  If Boston wins game one or two, it’s not farfetched to think this series could be over in five or six games.

When it comes to NBA history, no two franchises epitomize the league better than the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.  Both franchises brought me a lot of entertainment in the 80s and 90s, and it’s good to see both teams back in the spotlight after brief sabbaticals.  As great of a win it would be for the Lakers to get payback for 2008 and get that third win in 12 tries against the Celtics, Lakers fans are gonna be seeing more green acres of confetti littered near the TD Waterhouse Garden.

Celtics in 6.

Even with Ray Allen dropping 28 of his 30 points in the second half — including the game-winner with shot-blocker Joakim Noah in his face; Ben Gordon put up 42 points, and Rajon Rondo turned in a triple double, 19 point-16 assist-12 rebound performance. Back-and-forth in the fourth quarter with three guys lighting it up, that’s a classic playoff basketball game.

Even though I hate to admit it, I have to say it.

The NBA Playoffs, where amazing happens!