Boston at Miami

Game Three tonight as Boston looks to hammer the nail in the coffin with the 3-0 lead in the series. No NBA team has ever come back from 3-0 down to win a series, so that would be a death sentence for the Heat.

Boston showed up big time in KG's absence for game 2, led by stellar play from Ray Allen and Glen Davis. The ticket stub made The Big Ticket's suspension a non-factor as Miami had no answer for his energy and tenacity in the paint.

Dwyane Wade has not really had one of his patented playoff explosions yet, and I have a feeling it could come tonight in front of the home crowd. Boston may need to weather that storm and contain the other Heat players to take game 3.

The key for Boston as it has been all season will be how they come out in the 2nd half. For the Celtics, the first half is almost meaningless. We've seen them come back from big deficits (game 1 of this series) and we've seen them blow big 1st half leads (like just about every loss this season). If they can come out hot in the third quarter, and play some lock down D for a 10 minute stretch they should take the victory. If not, this one could come down to the wire and possibly be a disappointing loss for the boys in green.

Look for Rondo to have a big game, and hopefully he can get Ray hot again from deep. I'd love to see some more Tony Allen in this game as well. He's been great in the first two games, with nice defensive energy off the bench.

KG needs to have his game face on (not usually a problem) but he also needs to play well. Yapping, and talking shit only gets you so far. Glen Davis was great in his absence, but hopefully they'll be awesome together.

Lineups:

Boston Celtics (playoff avgs)
PG Rajon Rondo - 9.0 PPG, 11.0 APG
SG - Ray Allen - 16.5 PPG, 3.0 APG
SF- Paul Pierce - 14.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG
PF - Kevin Garnett - 15.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG
C- Kendrick Perkins - 10.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG

Miami Heat (playoff avgs)
PG Carlos Arroyo - 5.0 PPG, 3.5 APG
SG Dwyane Wade - 27.5 PPG, 5.5 APG
SG Quentin Richardson (bitch) - 10 PPG, 3.5 RPG
PF Michael Beasely - 9.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG
C Jermaine O'Neal - 5 PPG, 7 RPG



Prediction - Rondo drops a triple-double and the Celts weather the D-Wade storm as he erupts for 40+. Celts win a close one behind more great 4th quarter D.

Tommy Award - Rajon Rondo