Boston at Miami

Celtics-Heat

3:30 PM ET, May 1, 2011
AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, FL

MIAMI (AP) -- LeBron James planned to spend a large part of Saturday studying film, looking for any edge that the Miami Heat may use against the Boston Celtics.

Film from this season, that is.

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No need to watch the Celtics inflicting past playoff wounds on him. Those remain fresh -- and time has not yet healed them.

The inability to beat Boston is one of the biggest reasons why James is now wearing a Miami Heat uniform. He'll get a third attempt to top the Celtics in a postseason series starting Sunday when the teams collide in Game 1 of what may easily become an epic Eastern Conference semifinal.

"It is personal," James said Saturday as the Heat finished practice. "It is. Absolutely right. You don't want to keeping getting beat by the same team, the same team keep sending you home to plan a vacation. So it is personal."

The Celtics expected him to say nothing less.

"It would be personal for me," Boston forward Paul Pierce said. "I'm sure he's going to take it personal and you've got to expect his best."

Unwittingly or not, the Celtics played a huge role in setting up an offseason unlike any other in NBA history. Boston gave James a big push toward Miami for a strength-in-numbers approach with the Heat that wasn't possible during the two-time MVP's stint with the Cavaliers.

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Collectively, James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh figure to rate a better chance, and that theory is about to get put to the real test. They left a combined $51 million on the bargaining table last summer, and victory in this best-of-seven series may make that money seem exceptionally well-spent.

"I think you've got two really good teams, two teams with a lot of will, two teams with a lot of pride," Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said. "And I think it's going to be a great series."

The Celtics have 17 NBA championship banners, and there's at least that many story lines for this matchup.

Boston's Shaquille O'Neal wants to come back from injury for this series, as does Udonis Haslem for Miami. The Heat know they need to find ways of getting Wade going against the Celtics, which didn't happen in the regular season. Boston wants to exploit what it figures to be a significant edge at point guard with Rajon Rondo over the duo of Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers.

And there's that small matter of the teams just plain not liking one another.

"Playoffs is a new season," Boston forward Kevin Garnett said. "New situations, new scenarios. So everything we've done up to this point is just history."

In Miami's case, the history is not good.

Not only did Boston oust both Wade (in the first round) and James (in the second round) from last year's playoffs, but the Celtics have won 18 of their last 21 meetings overall against Miami -- even after the Heat rolled to a 100-77 win at home on April 10, the lone time they knocked off the defending East kings in four matchups this season.

The dominance has extended into the playoffs, too.

Of the 15 players on Miami's roster, nine have been ousted from past postseasons by the Celtics, with James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas enduring that fate in both 2008 and 2010 with the Cavaliers. Only one player -- James Jones, a reserve with Indiana in 2005 -- knows how it feels to beat the NBA's all-time championship leaders in a playoff series.

"I look forward to the challenge," Wade said. "I know I haven't played well against this team. That's no secret."

In Boston's eyes, Miami's hopes may not be pinned on Wade or James. The Celtics say the key may be Bosh.

Sometimes the forgotten man in the series of megadeals that reshaped the Heat last summer, Bosh had three double-doubles in five games against Philadelphia in the opening round. When he gets to at least 10 points and 10 rebounds, the Heat win at a 77 percent clip (24-7).

"LeBron and Wade are LeBron and Wade," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "They're going to be great. They were great before the series, they'll be great during it and they'll be great after and this summer when you're talking about it, you'll say 'LeBron and Wade are great players.' That's not going to change. But when Bosh plays great, then their team is great. And so, he's a key guy for them."

Boston hasn't played for a week since sweeping the New York Knicks out of the first round, and the Heat had slow starts in all five games of their series against Philadelphia.

"We've prepared a long time for this," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's time to toss the ball up in the air."

Miami at Philadelphia

Heat-76ers

1:00 PM ET, April 24, 2011
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- LeBron James blew past a yellow-shirted defender, deked another with a dazzling behind-the-back dribble and threw dunk a rim-rattling dunk.

The Miami Heat were nearing the end of a 2 1/2-hour practice Saturday when James punctuated it with a highlight play. Players and coaches say they're focused on the Philadelphia 76ers -- a win in Game 4 at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday would complete a sweep. Judging by the pace of practice at Saint Joseph's University, it seemed they were already gearing up for a showdown with the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

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"We don't look ahead," James said. "No one on this team looks ahead. This series isn't over yet. We got Philly to worry about. If we get to Boston, whenever that happens, then we'll get ready to take care of business, but I'm not looking ahead to those guys because we still have to finish what we started."

The Celtics also have a 3-0 lead in their first-round series against the New York Knicks. No team in NBA history has ever come back from such a deficit to win the series.

So, it would take a monumental collapse for the Heat not to play the Celtics in the next round. The playoff matchup everyone expected -- James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Heat vs. Boston's Big Three plus Rajon Rondo -- is almost a reality.

"It wouldn't be right if Miami and Boston didn't meet in the playoffs," Wade said. "Everyone is expecting that, but we both have to finish our business."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he's watched the Knicks-Celtics series as a fan, leaving the scouts to analyze and breakdown film. He wouldn't even comment on Rondo's sensational performance -- 20 assists -- in Boston's victory in Game 3.

"I'm not letting myself get there," Spoelstra said. "We have enough to take care of right now. If I let my mind drift, my focus drift, if we start talking about other things, that's probably the most dangerous thing we can do. Philly has given us all we can handle. Right now, I'm looking at what we can do better, where our holes have been, what they can do to capitalize on it. These first quarters in two of the three games were not our best. At the end we had to play with extreme desperation."

The Sixers outscored the Heat 60-40 in the first quarters of Games 1 and 3. They raced to double-digit leads in both games only to apart at the end. No one thought a team that finished 41-41 would seriously push the Heat. Even Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said he knows the team is considered merely a "speed bump" for the Heat. All the Sixers want is to get a win, avoid a sweep and send the series back to South Beach for one more game.

"We just want, first of all, to get a win at home," said Andre Iguodala, a major disappointment in the series. "The crowd was really behind the guys. They gave us a lot of support. That's definitely our first goal, to win at home. I think the guys have been motivated from the start, in tuned to what the coaches say and focused in and really been motivated. We've played hard. I expect that to be the same."

Effort isn't Philadelphia's problem. They're simply overmatched against a team that was put together to win an NBA title.

"They're so athletic," Elton Brand said. "If they get a fastbreak, they'll finish it. We have to take good shots. We don't turn the ball over a lot. We have to turn it over even less."

The Sixers are a young team with little playoff experience. They haven't been intimated by Miami's superstars, and Collins isn't going to let them go down without a fight.

"That's the good thing about having a young group," Iguodala said. "They just have that natural energy. And they're just too goofy to know the situation, so they're always excited to play the game. It kind of rubs off on everyone. They're always wanting to play another game."

Spoelstra is quite aware of this.

"This is still a series until you eliminate somebody," he said. "They're a dangerous team. They're young enough to not understand any statistics or anything that's happened over the years, 3-0. The way they are, their fabric, they're gonna keep on coming. They're relentless, they're well- coached, they will not stop. We will have to earn this victory."

 

Miami at Philadelphia

Heat-76ers

8:00 PM ET, April 21, 2011

Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Chris Bosh can't wait to see Philadelphia at its best.

No, not the 76ers.

Miami already survived the Sixers' top effort in Game 1 and held on for the victory.

Bosh wants to absorb the atmosphere at a hostile court like in Philly -- from the rowdy fans in the rare full house dressed in matching T-shirts, to the pyrotechnics, and a new pregame video that incorporates live performance elements.

"I'm sure they'll be ready. They have a reputation, so I expect them to really own up to it," Bosh said. "We've prepared ourselves. We just have to go in there with thick skin like we always have and let the opposing boos really, really motivate us."

Oh, boy. Just what the Heat need is more motivation.

The Heat beat the 76ers in a close Game 1 and destroyed them in Game 2.

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LeBron James is healthy. So is Bosh. Dwyane Wade says he's "good to go" after dealing with migraine symptoms.

So unless the trio all come down with some sort of mystery ailment that puts them on the bench for Thursday's Game 3, the Sixers are still in serious trouble. Home court or not.

"We've bounced back, we've shown resiliency," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "I think for our guys, if they could just come out and see the ball in the basket, it would be such a lift for us."

The Sixers are viewed as little more than a speed bump on Miami's way to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Heat have said all the right things. The playoffs don't start until a team wins on the road. The Philly fans are some of the toughest around. No game is harder to win than Game 3.

Give the Heat credit, they believe in good sportsmanship.

The Heat are likely among the few people not wearing a Philadelphia 76ers uniform who won't concede that this 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference playoff series is Miami's to lose.

Collins said his team remains upbeat. But unless they can find a way to shut down James, Wade, and Bosh at the same time, the odds of winning a game remain uphill.

"In Game 3, I think their will is at stake here," Bosh said. "They're going to come out fighting, they're going to come out really swinging, especially with that home energy behind them.

The Sixers won 26 home games this year -- one less than their overall total from a year ago. The Heat haven't flinched as the NBA's top touring act. They led the East and tied for the NBA lead with 28 road victories.

Talent always finds a way to win out over location.

Win Games 3 and 4 in Philly and the series is over.

The Sixers have adopted "showyaluv" as their season slogan. The Heat are ready to "showdabroom."

"If I came up here and said, 'We're trying to win one,' then people would look at us crazy," James said. "We're trying to win both, but Game 3 is the most important one."

The Sixers had a surprise guest at Thursday's practice: Chairman Ed Snider, who founded the Flyers, arrived to applause in his team sweats. He watched practice and chatted with Collins before leaving for a scheduled 4 p.m. flight to watch the Flyers play Game 4 of their playoff series in Buffalo.

"We've got a really good organization now, the best we've had in 15 years," Snider said.

That starts at the top with team president Rod Thorn, general manager Ed Stefanski, and Collins. Collins, who refused to take credit for the Sixers turnaround, thrust himself into contention for coach of the year honors.

He took a Sixers roster that made only minor changes from last year's 27-win roster and turned them into a 41-win playoff team.

The Sixers, though, have a roster full of really nice players. Most teams would love to have Lou Wiliams, Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala. They're just not the type of franchise players a team can build a title contender around.

In other words, they're not The Big 3.

If the Sixers are going to contend against Miami, Boston and Orlando, they'll have to find that LeBron-esque superstar.

"We've gone to 41. Now 41 to 50 is another jump," Collins said. "To go plus-14 is big. To go plus-nine is huge. You can't do that by contracting. You've got to do that by adding. Sometimes you can add by subtracting. But eventually you've got to add by adding. We're at a point now where we've got add by adding."

But that time is not now.

"We can't push fast forward," Collins said. "It doesn't work that way."

The Sixers did not boast of "you've got to believe" comebacks or sell a fanbase on "anything can happen." They respect the Heat too much and know -- as Collins said after Game 2 -- the Heat are the better team.

They'd like to simply start small with one win at home.