If the Miami Heat win a game in the playoffs, it’s a statement on their All-Star pairings. If they lose, it’s all about how LeBron James can’t win a title (even if he has had a good game and Dwyane Wade hasn’t). But this is unfair to the Boston Celtics. This series, which they now lead 3-2, deserves to be about them. If Boston were playing any other team in the Eastern Conference finals, we would be reading one story after another about what a grand champion they have been and what grit they’re showing.
There’s a difference between being great talents and being champions. It’s why the Celtics have contended a few years longer than everyone perhaps anticipated. It’s what enables Paul Pierce, in the midst of a lousy shooting game, to bury a key 3-pointer late without hesitation.
The Celtics know how to win. They don’t back away from the moment. Regardless of what happens the rest of the series, the Celtics have proved a point.
– John Keim
