NBA Playoffs: Celtics draw Wade, Heat
It took the full 82-game schedule, but the 2010 NBA postseason is finally set in stone. All eyes are on the Cavaliers and Lakers to ultimately matchup for the crown, making the initial 4-5 seed clashes their eventual Round 2 opponents. In the Eastern Conference, Kevin Garnett and Boston will battle Dwyane Wade and the Heat while the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz collide in the Western Conference.
Did the Boston Celtics intentionally lose on Wednesday night?
It was pretty clever if they did – and completely unsportsmanlike at the same time. The Celtics didn’t use Kevin Garnett, or Paul Pierce, or Ray Allen, or even Kendrick Perkins in Wednesday night’s 106-95 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks (-4½). They did use Oliver Lafayette, a D-League guard who was called up yesterday from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. He played quite well in his first 22 minutes of NBA action, but Lafayette’s seven points weren’t nearly heroic enough for Boston to overcome the betting odds.
Milwaukee would have gotten the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with that win, had the Miami Heat also lost their game to the New Jersey Nets. And then the Celtics would have faced a Bucks team without starting center Andrew Bogut (20.80 PER), one of the top five centers in the league this year.
But that’s not how things worked out; Miami (-4½) outlasted the Nets 94-86 in double overtime to earn that No. 5 seed. Too bad for Boston – or is it?
No. 4 Boston Celtics vs. No. 5 Miami Heat
Series begins Saturday, April 17 in Boston
Only three games separate the Celtics (50-32 SU, 33-47-2 ATS) and the Heat (47-35 SU, 42-39-1 ATS) in the Eastern standings. Boston lost seven of its last 10 games SU and ATS, while Miami was scorching hot at 12-1 SU (8-4-1 ATS) to end the regular season. Those numbers hint at a fairly even matchup, but check out these numbers: The Celtics won all three of their games against Miami this year at 2-1 ATS. Not only that, Boston’s Big Three was together for just one of those three victories. The Heat was at or near full capacity each time.
That’s one of the big problems with comparing won-loss records. Boston has had injury problems all year, from Garnett (69 games played) and Pierce (71 GP) all the way down to Glen Davis (53 GP) and Marquis Daniels (50 GP). Miami enjoyed a much healthier season, including 77 MVP-quality games from Dwyane Wade (28.06 PER). That’s all past tense. Boston has its full complement of players now, and they’re very well rested for the playoffs.
This is just a poor matchup on paper for Miami. Rajon Rondo (19.04 PER) torched the Heat in all three regular season games, running Boston’s offense like clockwork against lesser guards like Mario Chalmers (10.70 PER) and Carlos Arroyo (12.57 PER).
The Celtics also have a considerable advantage in the middle with Garnett (19.50 PER) and Perkins (15.07 PER) getting up close and personal with Jermaine O’Neal (17.89 PER), who has a gimpy left ankle to go along with his usual knee problems. Wade can’t do everything himself.
No. 4 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 5 Utah Jazz
Series begin Saturday, April 17 in Denver
The Jazz (53-29 SU, 49-30-3 ATS) had a chance at the No. 2 seed in the West, but lost 100-86 to the Phoenix Suns (+5½) on Wednesday to drop all the way down to No. 5. The Nuggets (53-29 SU, 35-41-6 ATS) won three of their four regular-season matchups with Utah at 2-0-2 ATS, so they take the Northwest Division title and the No. 4 seed.
The Jazz have been touted as a legitimate title contender, and perhaps they are, but this is a bad situation for them. Denver’s speed has caused problems all year – particularly in the form of rookie guard Ty Lawson (16.52 PER), who played his best ball of the season against Utah with 19.0 points and 5.0 assists per game.
The Jazz are already having a hard enough time getting up and down the court with Mehmet Okur (Achilles), Carlos Boozer (oblique) and Andrei Kirilenko (calf) all entering the playoffs at less than 100 percent.
As for Denver, it’s easy sometimes to forget about Carmelo Anthony (22.31 PER), but he is one of the best players in the league. He only played in two of those four games against Utah, scoring 30 points in the season opener and 37 on January 17 – both Denver victories. The Jazz had better come up with something fresh this time.
It took the full 82-game schedule, but the 2010 NBA postseason is finally set in stone. All eyes are on the Cavaliers and Lakers to ultimately matchup for the crown, making the initial 4-5 seed clashes their eventual Round 2 opponents. In the Eastern Conference, Kevin Garnett and Boston will battle Dwyane Wade and the Heat while the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz collide in the Western Conference.
Did the Boston Celtics intentionally lose on Wednesday night?
It was pretty clever if they did – and completely unsportsmanlike at the same time. The Celtics didn’t use Kevin Garnett, or Paul Pierce, or Ray Allen, or even Kendrick Perkins in Wednesday night’s 106-95 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks (-4½). They did use Oliver Lafayette, a D-League guard who was called up yesterday from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. He played quite well in his first 22 minutes of NBA action, but Lafayette’s seven points weren’t nearly heroic enough for Boston to overcome the betting odds.
Milwaukee would have gotten the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with that win, had the Miami Heat also lost their game to the New Jersey Nets. And then the Celtics would have faced a Bucks team without starting center Andrew Bogut (20.80 PER), one of the top five centers in the league this year.
But that’s not how things worked out; Miami (-4½) outlasted the Nets 94-86 in double overtime to earn that No. 5 seed. Too bad for Boston – or is it?
No. 4 Boston Celtics vs. No. 5 Miami Heat
Series begins Saturday, April 17 in Boston
Only three games separate the Celtics (50-32 SU, 33-47-2 ATS) and the Heat (47-35 SU, 42-39-1 ATS) in the Eastern standings. Boston lost seven of its last 10 games SU and ATS, while Miami was scorching hot at 12-1 SU (8-4-1 ATS) to end the regular season. Those numbers hint at a fairly even matchup, but check out these numbers: The Celtics won all three of their games against Miami this year at 2-1 ATS. Not only that, Boston’s Big Three was together for just one of those three victories. The Heat was at or near full capacity each time.
That’s one of the big problems with comparing won-loss records. Boston has had injury problems all year, from Garnett (69 games played) and Pierce (71 GP) all the way down to Glen Davis (53 GP) and Marquis Daniels (50 GP). Miami enjoyed a much healthier season, including 77 MVP-quality games from Dwyane Wade (28.06 PER). That’s all past tense. Boston has its full complement of players now, and they’re very well rested for the playoffs.
This is just a poor matchup on paper for Miami. Rajon Rondo (19.04 PER) torched the Heat in all three regular season games, running Boston’s offense like clockwork against lesser guards like Mario Chalmers (10.70 PER) and Carlos Arroyo (12.57 PER).
The Celtics also have a considerable advantage in the middle with Garnett (19.50 PER) and Perkins (15.07 PER) getting up close and personal with Jermaine O’Neal (17.89 PER), who has a gimpy left ankle to go along with his usual knee problems. Wade can’t do everything himself.
No. 4 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 5 Utah Jazz
Series begin Saturday, April 17 in Denver
The Jazz (53-29 SU, 49-30-3 ATS) had a chance at the No. 2 seed in the West, but lost 100-86 to the Phoenix Suns (+5½) on Wednesday to drop all the way down to No. 5. The Nuggets (53-29 SU, 35-41-6 ATS) won three of their four regular-season matchups with Utah at 2-0-2 ATS, so they take the Northwest Division title and the No. 4 seed.
The Jazz have been touted as a legitimate title contender, and perhaps they are, but this is a bad situation for them. Denver’s speed has caused problems all year – particularly in the form of rookie guard Ty Lawson (16.52 PER), who played his best ball of the season against Utah with 19.0 points and 5.0 assists per game.
The Jazz are already having a hard enough time getting up and down the court with Mehmet Okur (Achilles), Carlos Boozer (oblique) and Andrei Kirilenko (calf) all entering the playoffs at less than 100 percent.
As for Denver, it’s easy sometimes to forget about Carmelo Anthony (22.31 PER), but he is one of the best players in the league. He only played in two of those four games against Utah, scoring 30 points in the season opener and 37 on January 17 – both Denver victories. The Jazz had better come up with something fresh this time.
