With media attention and excitement from fans of all sports, the anticipation for the 2010-2011 NBA Season opener featuring the Miami Heat versus the Boston Celtics, was nothing like I have ever seen before. Standing room only and a cap of 500 media passes being handed out are scenarios reserved for the NBA finals, and rarely, actually never as far as I can remember, for the 1st game of the year.
There was good reason for the hype. Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh would try to show the world that they are the team to beat, as many have already labeled them. Boston's "Big 3" of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were out to do the same, with added help from Rajon Rondo.
The packed arena was as loud as any playoff game I have ever watched, and as the sea of green Celtic supporters were showing no love to the visiting team, it was clear that everyone was in for a great game.
After a sloppy first quarter, a nervous Miami Heat scored only 9 points trailing the Celtics 16 to 9. Easy missed shots, players not prepared for passes and unforced turnovers had the Heat losing by 19 points later into the game. It didn't long into the second half before the chants of "Overrated" came booming from the stands. Almost instantly after that, Lebron James went on a scoring run to cut the Celtics lead down to 5. However, where the Celtics had the advantage when it came to team chemistry. Set plays they have used for years, tried and true players like Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, where able to hit clutch 3 pointers putting the game out of reach in the final minutes of the 4th quarter. Celtics would win 88 to 80.
Lebron James did have an impressive 31 points, but the only other double digit scorer was Dwayne Wade with 13. The Celtics on the other hand had a much better team effort with 4 players in double digits. With Kevin Garnett's 10 points, Paul Pierce's 19, Ray Allen's 20, Glen Davis' 13 and Rajon Rondo's 17 assists, it is clear, and always has been, that 1 player cannot win it all.
It's only 1 game, and there is no doubt that once the Heat get into rhythm we will see them play well. We also have to take into consideration they were playing the best defensive team in the league, 1 year removed from the Finals and 2 years removed from a Championship. To be fair, we can't make excuses when they lose and say it's obvious when they win. They will beat the weaker teams in the league, and like tonight, will put on a great show when facing the better ones.
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