I'm excited already.

The Boston Celtics dispatched the Miami Heat, and it was easier than expected.  All it took was five games to take down Dwyane Wade and the underachieving and untalented crew he calls teammates.

But it was always known, by everyone outside of Florida, that Boston would outlast the Heat.  While the series ended up being quicker than anticipated, the end result did nothing to alter the second-round collision course with Cleveland and its Kingdom.

If the Celtics are going to make noise in the 2010 playoffs — and don’t get it twisted, they’ve only made whispers so far — beating Lebron was always going to be a necessity.  But can the Celtics take him down?  Can they defeat the NBA’s best player and his improved supporting cast?  Can the Celtics do what two weeks ago was thought impossible and now, on the heels of the impressive first-round dismantling of Miami, remains firmly in the realm of unlikely?

“I think we have enough to win it all,” Paul Pierce stated in defiance of common belief.  But, with Lebron James on the other side — no matter what his damaged elbow is like — Pierce knows, “we have our work cut out for us.”

“We know this is going to be a tough series, a really, really tough series,” admitted Pierce. “You got LeBron James, the best player in the NBA right now. He is about to receive another MVP, a two-time MVP. It’s a huge mountain we going to have to climb, but I think this team is ready to face the test.”

But are they?  Is beating the Heat — even in five games — really a sign that Boston is ready for the league’s top team?  As well as the Celtics looked at times against Miami, troublesome signs remained.  “We still make some of the same mistakes,” said Glen Davis even after yesterday’s win.  Remember, the Celtics — down 14 in the second half — could easily have lost Game One, and Game Three was saved only by a late dose of Truth syrup.  Give those two games away, and suddenly the Celts would have been down, not up, 3-1 going into Game Five.  Then again, maybe winning games they might have lost is the best sign yet that the Celtics are ready.

“I would say from our vantage point,” noted Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, “at least when we played them, that’s probably the most mentally tough team that we’ve played this year.”

For much of the season, “mentally tough” wouldn’t have been a catch-phrase to throw out in regards to the Celtics.  They lost the games they were supposed to.  Early deficits were mostly insurmountable.  Teams went on runs, and the Celtics were unable — unwilling? — to stop them.

But that changed against Miami as the regular season became the playoffs, and the newly-found resolve — non-existent in the months leading up to the postseason — is the biggest reason to put faith in the Celtics.

“We are playing as good basketball as we have been playing all season long, and we are ready,” Pierce said, reiterating his confidence.

Ready for a player as physically talented as any to ever grace an NBA court.  Ready for that player’s retooled supporting cast, bolstered by the midseason addition of Antawn Jamison.  Ready to make good on the promise that the playoffs would be different.  Ready to dethrone the King, a king who has still never received the one crown he wants most.

But, as ready as they may be, can the Celtics win the series?

With the knowledge gained from experience and past conquers on their side, the Celtics can.  Whether they will can only be decided on the court.

Celtics fans can only hope that court will be ruled not by a king, but by a cast of former champions turned underdogs.

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Does the newly-crowned Big Four have enough to take down Lebron James?

Bob Ryan, Boston Globe – “It’s not going to be 2008 all over again. The old guys are even older, and the basic dynamics have changed. “Ubuntu’’ was then. What’s now is a nice, solid, veteran-oriented team quarterbacked by an unpredictable, mercurial point guard who is difficult to prepare for because there really is no way of knowing what he’s going to do — ever. Last night, Rajon Rondoed his way to a 16-point, 8-rebound, 12-assist stat line. He announced himself to the Heat on the game’s first possession when he took Dwyane Wade to the hoop for a running hook, and he really never stopped creating problems for the visitors. ‘He plays in another gear,’ sighed Spoelstra. ‘He’s much quicker than most point guards, and when he gets to the postseason, he has yet another gear. He’s got toughness and big-time confidence, which some people think borders on cockiness. People call them the Big Three. I don’t know why they don’t call them the Big Four.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “The Celtics wanted the third seed. They wanted to delay the possibility of playing Cleveland for as long as possible, even if it meant facing Dwight Howard and the Magic. Since then, the Celtics have been injected with a surge of confidence and good health. They spent the past week beating up on the Miami Heat, making shorter work of Dwyane Wade and the Disappointments than expected. Boston is playing as well as it has all season and is a far more efficient team than the one that barely held on to beat the Cavaliers at TD Garden April 4. Facing Miami may have greatly helped the Celtics prepare for the Cavaliers more than playing the Bucks. The Celtics spent five games trying to contain Wade, who averaged 33.2 points per game. They chased him. Doubled him. And stood helpless at times when he twisted to the basket. The Celtics faced a megastar for 240 minutes and that would at least serve as an appetizer for LeBron James, who averaged 36.5 points in four games against the Celtics this season, his most against any Eastern Conference team. So there is no better time — especially with three days off — to take on Iron Man and his sidekicks. [...] ‘If you want to win it you got to play them all anyway at some point,’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ‘So, you know, why not now? We’re there, we’ll be waiting; we’ll be ready. And I’m sure they will be.’”

Rich Levine, CSNNE – “The road through the next series will be more treacherous in every single way. It will be more dangerous and taxing than anything they’ve experienced all season. But at no point all year have the Celtics appeared more ready for the ride. Just how they always said it would be.”

Mike Petraglia, WEEI – “Glen Davis was speaking for the Celtics when he characterized the match-up with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers starting this Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinal series. ‘It’s going to be tougher, we know that,’ Davis said. ‘We’ve got to go there and grind it out. We go to them first. We just have to make sure we go there with the mentality of attack first. It’s just like in every kingdom, sometimes you’ve got to go to the fight, you’ve got to bring it to them, attack their fortress and bust down their wall with a wooden tree and go attack it. That’s how it is.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘I don’t know what this feels like,’ admitted Rivers. ‘I’m not used to this. I just know it’s nice to get a day off tomorrow, because we need one… But it is nice to take care of business and that was great. Only I was a little disappointed in us [letting a 21-point lead slip to three at] the end of the third and fourth [quarters], because I thought it was our focus. We can’t do that. It’s very dangerous. We got away with it tonight.’ [...] ‘The last two years we’ve gone to Game 7 in the first round and it can wear on you,” said Allen. “This first round we were tested defensively. Offensively, I thought we were solid and consistent throughout, for the most part. Throughout the series, of course, we hit adversity, but I’m glad that we did take care of business in five. Yeah, we would have loved to do it in four down in their building, but just to have the resiliency bouncing back tonight from the Game 4 loss down there. It will only be a struggle from here on in.’ [...] ‘It feels good that we were finally able to close out a team earlier,’ said Pierce. ‘We wish we could have done it in four, but maybe we needed a little bump in the road to kind of wake us up. [Now the Celtics] get a couple days of rest before we move on to the next round, so I am glad with the way we played throughout the series. I thought we really saw the sense of urgency throughout the whole series and I am happy with the win.’ Added Garnett: ‘Rest is always good. Any time you get a chance to rest knick-knack injuries, it’s always a good thing.’”

Chris Sheridan, ESPN – “Well, they’re good. This series against Miami showed it. But Cleveland is better than good, and Boston will need to be great — something the Celtics haven’t been on a long-term consistent basis since their championship season two years ago. One thing’s for sure: It’ll be great to see them try. The Celtics know they are the underdogs, and rightfully so, and the challenge will be to raise their collective level to a height good enough to beat the NBA’s best team. Two and a half weeks from now, we’ll know whether they were up to the task.”

Peter May, ESPN – “And, finally, what reason can either of you give us to think that, based upon what we’ve all seen, the Celtics will make it out of the first round, let alone make any kind of respectable run? Well, we got the answer — and it sure wasn’t based on anything we’ve seen in months. The Celtics were a .500 team over the final 54 games of the exhibition, er, regular season and it was fair to wonder what team was going to show up when the playoffs started. Would we get the one that lost to the Nets, Wizards, Grizzlies and Sixers at home? Or would we get the one that the players promised was certain to arrive, a committed, driven, experienced group understanding what was at stake and playing with the appropriate sense of urgency? Ainge and Rivers let the players do the talking. They talked the talk, for sure. Just ask Quentin Richardson. But they also walked the walk.”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘Veteran team, well-coached, and they make you pay,’ said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. ‘There are so many guys that can make plays, and more importantly that are unselfish. They did a terrific job of just executing. It just seemed that we were chasing them one step too late. They understand what the moment is. They’ve had injuries. Everybody discounts that, and that’s a big part of the NBA season.’”

Michael Wallace, Miami Herald – “‘Our effort was there,’ coach Erik Spoelstra said. ‘It just seemed like we were chasing them one step too late. This game was kind of a microcosm of our season. Unfortunately, there are no moral victories when you get sent home.’ Allen had 24 points, Pierce got 21, Rondo added 16 points and 12 assists and Garnett scored 14 as Boston overwhelmed Miami with offensive balance and a swarming defense. ‘There’s only so much you can do against a great defense like that,’ said Wade, who averaged 33.2 points and shot 56.3 percent in the series. ‘I understand what this team is giving me and what it isn’t giving me.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘You got to know a player like Wade is not going to just completely give up,’ said Pierce. ‘He is going to try to take the game over. When we went up 18, I thought that was a perfect chance to really put this game away. I said at halftime, ‘Come on guys, one more step,’ a little more sense of urgency, and then we pushed the lead and then we just didn’t step on them like we wanted to, but that is something that we can learn from.’ Allen’s 20 second-half points came despite spending much of his energy trying to make Wade miserable. He spent the series guarding the star, and when the Celtics face the Cavaliers, Pierce will be the one who draws the short stick in the form of LeBron James. ‘In the playoffs, it’s all about matchups,’ Allen said. Then he joked, ‘I was in the hot seat. I think Paul will get it now in the second round.’”

Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “But on Tuesday, Richardson shared a different opinion after the Heat’s elimination in Game 5. ‘Paul’s a great NBA player,’ he told WEEI.com. ‘That’s the only opinion that really matters, his NBA game. He’s a good NBA player.’ Even though Richardson referred to Pierce as “an actress” in Game 1, he said he never knocked his talent. That’s something that, in spite of their differences on the court, Richardson cannot deny. ‘I’ve always respected his game, never not,’ he said. ‘I mean, he’s an All-Star, he’s a Finals MVP, he has his accolades, and he well deserves them. I take my hat off to him as a basketball player. Nothing will change that.’”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.

High fives all around.

This one was getting ugly.  Boston was dominant.  Doc Rivers was pondering how to defend Lebron James. Dwyane Wade was — for him, at least — dormant.  The Celtic lead became twenty.

And then it was gone.  But not all of it.  The Celtics would hold on to the victory, playing just well enough down the stretch to escape with a 96-86 victory and advance to the second round.

A third-quarter Celtics lapse, occurring mostly as a Heat zone disrupted the rhythm of Boston’s second unit, briefly helped Miami make this one interesting, but Boston’s lead was too much for Wade and his overachieving troop of scrubs to overcome. A barrage of jumpers from the Big Three, including an especially hot display from Ray Allen, ended Miami’s quest to extend its season one more game.

Allen finished with 24 points on 5-6 three-point shooting, Paul Pierce scored 21 points, and Kevin Garnett added 14 points and 8 rebounds, hitting two big shots midway through the fourth quarter to help drive a dagger through Miami’s heart.  While the Big Three provided most of the scoring, it was Rajon Rondo who was again the best Celtic.  He was dominant on both ends in the first half with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals, and ended the game only two rebounds short of a triple-double (16 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals).

For Miami, only Mario Chalmers — who broke out in a big way with 20 points and some three-pointers that helped key Miami’s third-quarter run — joined Wade in double figures.  As expected, Wade (31 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds) led the way but — for the first time all series — Boston kept Wade’s field goal percentage down, making him work for his shots.  Constant double-teams, good rotations, and a perennial hand in Wade’s face helped contain him.  He wasn’t stopped, not by any means, but the Celtics can live with a 10-24 shooting performance from the superstar.

For two and a half quarters, the Celtics really looked like they were going to run away with this one.  Only another warm batch of Celtics turnovers and questionable officiating (I really thought tonight was going to be the night Tommy finally got a mid-game heart attack) kept the game from being a blowout at halftime, and the crowd threatened to blow the roof off the Garden as the lead ballooned to 20 in the third.

But it wasn’t meant to be that easy, not that the amount of ease matters.  All that matters is that the Celtics are now in the second round.

Hey Lebron, you’re next.

*****

Game Notes:

• If the Cavs finish off the Bulls tonight, Game One will be on Saturday.  If not, it won’t be until Monday.
• Jermaine O’Neal had a couple nice dunks, and that’s about all you can say about the positives he brought to the table this series.  Well, I guess you could say he blocked Glen Davis a few times, but even my dog could block Glen Davis.  For O’Neal, the offseason couldn’t have come at a better time.
• Quentin Richardson played like an actress.  Actually, I think even Julia Roberts could have outplayed Richardson on this night: He played 38 minutes and tallied 4 points, 3 rebounds and 0 assists.  Enjoy watching the second round from home, Q.
• Michael Beasley was benched for a large portion of the second half (the whole second half?).  Erik Spoelstra had clearly seen enough of his new haircut… well, that and his half-hearted play.
• Rasheed Wallace only played 9 minutes and notched 2 points and 3 rebounds, but looked more alive than he has in a long time.
• Glen Davis, and his dance.  I cannot attempt to describe it.  I will try to find a video of it for tomorrow.

Betcha didn't know what Kevinn Pinkney looked like. Or that he spells his own name wrong.

Didn’t know it had been THIS long since the Miami Heat had won in Boston. (South Florida Sun Sentinel)

The last time the Miami Heat won in Boston, Allan Ray and not Ray Allen was in the Celtics’ starting lineup.

The last time the Heat won in Boston, Eddie Jones and not Dwyane Wade was the Heat’s starting shooting guard.

The Heat won 88-85 on April 6, 2007, after outscoring the Boston Celtics 18-15 in a riveting fourth quarter.

Since then, there have been seven consecutive losses in the building now known as TD Garden.

It was why for all the Heat accomplished in Sunday’s 101-92 victory over the Celtics to stay alive in this best-of-seven opening-round NBA playoff series, the reality Monday amid the current 3-1 deficit is it still has yet to accomplish something it must achieve in this series, a victory on the Celtics’ homecourt.

“We need a breakthrough in Boston. It’s as simple as that,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We need to find a way to do it in Boston.”

Also starting for Boston that day? Gerald Green and Ryan Gomes. Green shot 25 times and scored 21 points. Not impressive, as usual.

Also starting for Miami? Shaq, James Posey, and the Artist Formerly Known as White Chocolate.

Saving the best for last, coming off the Celtics bench to join Sebastian Telfair and Leon Powe was… drumroll please… none other than Kevinn Pinkney. I’m not even kidding. Goddamn, it’s been a long time since Miami won in the Bean.

Wade's performance was unfair, but it only delays the inevitable.

When the Miami Heat pounced on the Boston Celtics, staggering them with two first-quarter runs of 12 and 14 points and entering the second quarter ahead 31-18, I was stunned.

Down 3-0, I figured the Heat would roll over and play dead rather than win just to force the series back to Boston.  “I know a lot of people expected us to roll over and just give them the series because they were up, 3-0,’’ Dwayne Wade told the Boston Globe. After all, who wants to fly across the whole damn country, when you can stay in South Beach and begin enjoying the offseason?

And then the game started, and Boston — in Doc Rivers’ words — tried to throw a haymaker, but instead played more like Tony in Blue Chips… ya know, the player who shaved points by throwing the ball to the wrong team.  Boston breathed life into the Miami players by continually feeding them the ball and starting fast breaks, and Miami started the game off on a roll.

Later, when Boston surged seven points ahead with an extended run of their own, I again thought Miami would fold like a lawn chair.  Oh, how wrong I was.

“We didn’t break,’’ Wade said. “When they took the lead, we never broke, and that’s the biggest thing and that’s the turning point from any other game. We stayed with it even when it looked bad and it was like, ‘OK here comes another one.’ We made the plays we needed.’’

Being down seven points only made it more dramatic when Dwyane Wade got hotter than a mid-summer day in hell.

“We were just playing for the moment,’’ center Joel Anthony said. “We understood what was on the line. This is our season that we’re playing for. It was just about doing your job. Everyone knows what their role is on the team and what they’re supposed to do.’’

“It would have been so easy for all of us just to quit,’’ Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Who wants to really think about getting on a plane to Boston? But now you play in front of a crowd like this, you get inspired. Your captain plays like that, you better believe this group is inspired to find some way to get this thing back in front of those fans.’’

So now Miami makes the trip up north, still massive underdogs trying to succeed at a feat never before accomplished — coming back from a 3-0 series deficit.

“If there’s any team in the NBA that can win four straight,” Michael Beasley told the Miami Herald, “we can do it.”

The Heat are dreaming big and, because of a steely resolve cemented by Dwyane Wade’s flurry, those dreams remain alive.

But something tells me they’re going to feel the dreaded pinch soon.  It’s almost time to wake up.

Wade was decent today. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Dwyane Wade was beyond sensational today in  keeping Miami’s season alive with a 46-point performance.  Here is a collection of quotes about Wade’s electric day, just in case you want to continue bashing your head against a wall.

AP (Via Fox Sports) – D-Wade saves Heat from elimination

“Sometimes, you know, he puts on the cape, man,” Heat forward Quentin Richardson said. “There’s not a lot of things you can do when he’s playing that way.”

ESPN – Wade’s hot hand saves Heat from elimination

“We don’t take Dwyane for granted, that greatness. He has another gear and another depth to reach into to carry a team on his back. And you see it, and you start to believe. When his back is against the wall, it is an utter defiance,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. [...]

“Step-in 3s are a shot we’d usually give him because he’s known for his drives and his mid-range,” Paul Pierce said. “On a normal day those are shots you want him to take, but it wasn’t a normal day.” [...]

“What we revealed was a real defiance and stubbornness. They had been knocking us down, and today was only about getting up. And Dwyane has the most flagrant defiance and stubbornness,” Spoelstra said. “People were saying we would quit, but Dwyane led the way by revealing his character and what he is made of.

“They say adversity builds character. We say adversity defines character. Now, it’s a one-game thing, and we’ve got to fight and scrap and continue to reveal our character.”

CSNNE – C’s chance at sweep brushed off, Heat rally for win

“We have to defend him better, obviously,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “He was fantastic. He made shots and he had to make them, but he made them. We have to defend him better. He has hurt us this entire series and we just have to do a better job.”[...]

“Dwyane was sensational,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “Dwyane as our leader and as our captain just led the way.”[...]

Said Wade: “I’m a rhythm player and once I get in a rhythm, I think I can make any shot.”

ESPNBoston – Postgame notes: No answer for Wade

“We started doubling him late, just trying to get the ball out of his hands,” said Celtics captain Paul Pierce. “He was coming down, stepping to that 3-point shot — a shot that we would normally give him on a night-in, night-out basis — and once he started hitting it, it was difficult to really guard him because he is known for his driving and getting to the hoop. When he’s hitting 3-pointers like that, he’s tough to guard.

“The way he played tonight just basically willed his team to a victory. He just put it all on his shoulders. He did a good job of it.”

CSNNE – Celtics Notes: No answer for D-Wade

Said Tony Allen who was among the handful of defenders used by Boston, who were ultimately used by Wade: “He got hot. He’s Dwyane Wade. We have to make the adjustment and try to come out and get Game 5.”

Boston Herald – Celtics can’t stop Dwyane Wade, can’t close out series

“We have to defend him better, obviously,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “We talked about it at halftime – getting into his body. He was making 3’s, and if you do not get into a guy’s body, you give him that chance to make 3’s. Give him credit. Wade was phenomenal.” [...]

“I would agree with Doc,” Tony Allen, one of the Celtics’ designated Wade trackers, said of the need to play the Miami guard tighter than a cheap prom tux. “We have to be more physical with that guy. We have to take away his air space and make things harder for him. We have to just be better.”

CBS Sports – Wade’s hot hand keeps Heat alive, but simply delays inevitable

“He did what he was supposed to do,” said Rondo, who led the Celtics with 23 points and nine assists. “He took the game over. That is why he is who he is. That is why he is the man for the Heat.”

Unfortunately for the Heat, basketball isn’t a one-man game, and they remain one game away from the offseason. Suckas.