Friday, May 25, 2012

Commentary: Whether opponent is Boston or Philly, the buzz will be limited for ... - Palm Beach Post

By Ethan J. Skolnick

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 6:44 p.m. Friday, May 25, 2012

Posted: 6:19 p.m. Friday, May 25, 2012

â€" Either way, it won't be the same.

No matter the winner Saturday night in the Game 7 between the wounded Boston Celtics and the upstart Philadelphia 76ers, the conference finals starting Monday won't generate the same buzz as this stage of the playoffs did last spring, when the core of this Heat roster was in its first post-season, and ran into a deep Chicago squad that featured the league MVP and held home-court advantage.

The anticipation might not even compare with the Heat's first two rounds last season, when Miami eliminated the 76ers in the first and the Celtics in the second, each time needing just five games.

After all, those series each had a substantial storyline (the new Big 3's initial post-season test, followed by its attempt to knock out the old Big 3 of Boston). Plus, there wasn't another much more compelling series occurring elsewhere, as will be the case starting Sunday with the Western Conference finals between juggernauts from San Antonio and Oklahoma City.

So this series will simply be a basketball exercise that the Heat will be favored to finish quickly, regardless of the Northeast representative, and even if Chris Bosh can't return for its duration (which sources say remains the likelihood).

There's been a widespread assumption that Philadelphia would be Miami's preferred foe, considering that the 76ers stumbled to an eighth seed, needed Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah to get hurt to survive the first round, and have looked lost against the Heat even while fielding competitive teams the past two seasons. (Miami is 11-1 during that time, including the playoffs.)

And perhaps that is still the case, with the Heat just 6-7 against the Celtics over that same stretch.

But that might be overestimating the Celtics' current condition.

Doc Rivers did wonderful work managing a roster in the wake of season-ending injuries to frontcourt rotation players Jeff Green, Chris Wilcox and Jermaine O'Neal. Now, though, he is also without Avery Bradley (shoulder surgery), and the second-year guard's emergence as a defensive pest figured to create an occasional problem for Dwyane Wade. Ray Allen, nearly 37 and nursing a sore ankle, is no longer equipped to chase Wade for 30-plus minutes.

Boston, with Kevin Garnett and Brandon Bass at center and power forward and little behind them, can't punish the Heat for its lack of size, and Miami might even be able to start Ronny Turiaf and Shane Battier, as it did late in the series against Indiana.

Yes, Rajon Rondo is trouble, but if Battier can handle Paul Pierce down the stretch, LeBron James can take more than a few shifts on the swift point guard.

Philadelphia's major issue against Miami has been its lack of a closer, but Andre Iguodala, at last, has taken some of that responsibility this post-season, while Evan Turner continues to develop. Plus, Elton Brand's presence at power forward might force Erik Spoelstra to adjust; Brand is likely too bulky for his former Duke teammate Battier, meaning that Udonis Haslem might return to a starting role.

At this point in the playoffs, when it's easy to feel weary, there's something to be said for the energetic legs of the 76ers (six rotation players under age 26) rather than the Celtics (just Rondo).

Plus, Boston's more likely, just due to history, to get Miami's immediate attention.

After Thursday's elimination of Indiana, Mario Chalmers was asked about the perception that this will be an easy path.

"We know within ourselves what we want to do," he said. "Everybody was saying that last year and look what happened to us last year. We take last year and apply that to this year. We're not worried about (anything), just taking it one game at a time, one series at a time."

Even if all anyone will talk about, when this series starts, is what might happen in the next one.

Spoelstra fined $25,000

The NBA fined Spoelstra $25,000 for criticizing the officiating in the Indiana series. Spoelstra said Thursday morning that although two of his players, Haslem and Dexter Pittman, were suspended for hard fouls, "the league does not have a problem with hard fouls on our two main guys (Wade and James)."

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