Probably the weirdest combination of words Heat PA announcer Mike Baiamonte has said all year came in the third quarter Sunday: "JUWAN HOWARD!! FROM JOEL ANTHONY."
Huh?!? Joel making a play? For Juwan Howard of all people?
Just goes to show a couple of things: First, how big the Heat bench was against the Celtics on Sunday. And second, how much more of a team the Heat has become throughout the season.
Even though that Celtics team looks nothing like the team that beat the Heat three times, Miami was still able to find a way to blow them out despite a 4-of-12 from Dwyane Wade and an eight-shot game from Chris Bosh.
Anthony's seven points and 10 rebounds might have been his best game of the year. Zydrunas Ilgauskas played just 10 minutes and still grossly outplayed Celtics starter Jermaine O'Neal. Big Z had four offensive rebounds and eight points in those 11 minutes. The Celtics had three offensive rebounds for the entire game.
Mario Chalmers was also huge, his nine points and strong defense making up for three turnovers.
In all, the bench scored 32 points, which is enormous for this team, and it's what makes a potential homecourt advantage against the Celtics important. Role players just play better at home, particularly in the playoffs. And if any of the Big Three are going to struggle in a game, that bench is going to be critical in the postseason.
LeBron James said he wants to see even more from Anthony, who was unusually aggressive on the offensive end Sunday.
"I want him to be just as aggressive as he is defensively on offense," LeBron said. "We can’t ever have a player out there that’s not confident in his ability.
"When our bench plays well, we’re a pretty good team. That’s why we were able to win a big game today."
Wade said it was obvious the Heat is a different team than the one that lost three times to the Celtics. But it wasn't just obvious to him. Even Kevin Garnett noted the difference in Miami.
"The things they've been through throughout the year, it seems as though they have gathered some tough skin," Garnett said. "It showed tonight."
Wade said part of what the Heat learned from the previous three games is not to overdo it offensively.
"They’re good at making you try too hard because of the dislike," Wade said.
So the Heat moved the ball around a lot and trusted others to finish at times. It was enough to loosen up the Celtics defense so LeBron could get to work.
Two more wins and the Heat lock up the No. 2 seed (or any combination of two Heat wins and Boston losses). Looking more like it'll be the Sixers in that first round. That means the Celtics will face the Knicks.
Now, the Celtics said they're a frustrated team defensively, and it's affecting their offense, too. If the C's are struggling defensively and aren't scoring, then it's no sure thing they'll even get past the Knicks.
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