The End of an ERA Marks the Beginning of a Dynasty

As the Celtics big 3 hobbled around the court in pain Tuesday night, the flurry of young talent opposite them on the court was flourishing. Flashy dunks, explosive moves, and ear to ear smiles from the Heat players ignited the Miami crowd. The Miami Heat have quickly become one of the hottest teams in the NBA Playoffs, and after nearly 4 years of being the victims of Celtic beat downs Wade and Lebron have been waiting for this moment. Do the Celtics have anything left in the tank, or has their window closed?

I expect the Boston crowd to give the Celtics a boost in game 3, but where the series goes after that seems inevitable. Meanwhile, the Heat are gaining steam and now they look like the best team in the playoffs in their current form. The Celtics haven't given the Heat much resistance in this series, and instead of a passing of the torch type series this has become a sudden abrupt end of an ERA, and the emergence of a potential dynasty. With the Lakers, Spurs, and Celtics getting older, not much resistance in the East despite superstar filled teams, and arguably 3 of the top 15 (arguably 2 in the top 5) players in the NBA heading into their prime the Heat look poised to dominate the next decade.

I know this: dealing Kendrick Perkins near the deadline didn't help the Celtics cause, and they lost a HUGE piece in their championship puzzle. It hasn't been discussed that much in the media due to Perkins' recent injuries, and knee problems but they miss him in that locker room and on the court. Perkins is an old fashion gritty center who pours his heart into every defensive possession, and does the dirty work on offense setting screens, and getting offensive rebounds. While the move rid the Celtics of a center plagued with knee problems, and gave them some cap space it ultimately threw all chances of a title out the window. Which is unfortunate because it looks like Pierce, Garnett, and Allen (not as much as Pierce and Garnett) are on their way out after the performance in game 2.


Many will say: Watch out for the Bulls. But to that I will queue my inner Lee Corso, and say "not so fast my friend." While they had a nice regular season they really snuck up on everyone. I would expect them to come back down to Earth next year once they are targeted on everyone's radar. Boozer has yet to prove he can perform in the playoffs, and he is up to his non-sense again this year failing to show up in more games then not thus far. Rose is a stud PG, but I don't think the players around him are ready for the spotlight. Noah is tough, but not an elite center. He has to work extremely hard for his production due to his lack of basketball ability. He is tough, scrappy, and a blue chip worker but I don’t think he is a 20-10 center in this league. I think the Bulls are good, and have a solid team but I don’t think they can match up with the Heat.

Current starting roster/match-ups?

Bibby < Rose
Wade > Bogans
James > Deng
Bosh > Boozer
Big Z < Noah (Slight advantage, maybe?)

Overmatched. The bench is almost even, but the rotation the Heat have created is lethal. They bring in shooters to surround James while Wade and Bosh are the first to sub out. Then they bring Bosh and Wade in to relieve James and work an offense through them. As opposed to Chicago, who conventionally subs out their players before having a 2nd unit on the court while starters sit.