The Heat proved they were the better team. They beat the Celtics fair and square, and LeBron got the monkey off his back. Even if they lose in the next round, they’re a different team now.
The Kendrick Perkins trade just destroyed us. Before the playoffs I said that we wouldn’t get very far without a healthy Shaq. And we didn’t. Consider the difference. By the time of the playoffs, our starting center (Perkins) was gone. Our backup center (Shaq) was injured. Our backup-backup (Jermaine O’Neal) played very well, but with injuries. Moving from your first string to injured third-string center does something to your team, and it showed. Fair is fair, but there’s something very frustrating about not having a healthy team. Rondo was not Rondo after the injury, you can make a good argument that with a healthy Rondo or a healthy Shaq that some poor Miami blogger would be writing their version of this post right now.
Wait ’til next year!
2008: “a series most, if not all, of us remember with either fondness for Boston fans, or despair for Cleveland.
In a second-round series highlighted by a LeBron James dunk which has become a staple on highlight reels, and by a classic scoring duel between Paul Pierce (with 41) and LeBron (with 45) in the final game, the Celtics advanced toward another NBA title in a series where every game was won by the home team, and the Celtics 66 wins trumped Cleveland’s 45, and turned out to be the difference”
2010: “The Cavaliers were considered heavy favorites coming in, but had to rally from an 11-point halftime deficit to win in Game 1… The Celtics clinched the series in Game 6, holding James to 8 of 21 shooting.
The Cavaliers early-exit led to James’s departure for the Miami Heat during the offseason. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert then accused James of quitting on the team during the series and also alleged that he did the same thing the previous year’s Conference Finals.”
This monkey is specifically about the Celtics. Despite being favored both years, James found himself losing to the Celtics. Last year he was so terrible in the last game against the Celtics that he was widely accused of mailing it in. It is no accident that he left Cleveland. After that loss, it was clear that Cleveland was never going to get him a ring and he had to do something different. He said he explicitly modeled his decision to go to Miami and create another “Big 3” on the success of the Celtics. His brand went from greatest guy in the world to cartoon supervillian, but it has worked. He finally beat the Celtics. That’s the monkey – beating the Celtics, and erasing the perception of him as soft or a choker.
I disagree that LeBron has the monkey off his back. If the Heat crap out of the playoffs in the next round and LeBron never wins an NBA title, I can’t see people in 10 years saying “Well, he didn’t win a title, but he was a great player … remember that Celtics series back in 2011 …” Nope. Ewing never got the monkey off his back even though they beat the Bulls, made it to 2 finals, and came within a Starks 3-pointer of winning the championship. Nobody remembers the playoff victories. Since there are no titles in there, they remember the failures. Charles Smith’s missed layups. Ewing missing a layup against the Pacers. Reggie Miller scoring what, 8 points in like 30 seconds to win a game. Starks missed 3 pointer. Etc. etc. If LeBron doesn’t win a title, then we’ll only remember his failures.
That being said, I think he will win it this year with the Heat. I might be selling the Bulls short, but I think it’s the Heat’s year. And my 11-year old will never let me hear the end of it if it is…