Scott Cordischi On Sports: Celts-Heat Tough To Beat
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Would it have been nice to beat the Heat in the opener? Certainly. But let’s focus on the big picture here.
What we witnessed Tuesday night in Miami were the two best teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
In all due respect to the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and any other team that thinks it can contend in the East, the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics are still the class of the conference.
Granted, a lot can happen between now and next April when the playoffs begin, but would anyone be surprised or disappointed if this were the match-up in the Eastern Conference Finals once again?
Barring a disaster, we should almost expect the Heat to be there. Boston, on the other hand, will need some things to go their way.
Most importantly, the aging Celtics must stay healthy because any chance Boston has at contending this year will depend on a healthy Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.
The good news is that this year’s Celtics team features more depth than they have had in quite some time so keeping some of those veterans rested and ready for the playoffs could be easier for Doc Rivers who always seems to do a masterful job in handling his team.
It may still be football season, but sports fans in New England will have someone else to cheer for besides the Patriots this winter. The Boston Celtics will be fun to watch.
-Kevin Garnett’s emotionless response to Ray Allen tapping him on the shoulder last night was absolutely priceless! It’s also an indication that Garnett is one of those old school athletes who not only invests every ounce of blood, sweat and tears he has into each game, but also has a true hatred for his opponents – particularly the rival Miami Heat.
-After years of poking fun at our local meteorologists for rarely getting a forecast right and for getting paid for being wrong on a regular basis, a mea culpa from yours truly. From GoLocalProv.com’s John Ghiorse to all of the talking heads on TV, they all did a great job of forecasting Hurricane Sandy and warning southern New England of the dangers of the storm. Unlike when they scare us into running to the store for bread and milk before 2-inches of snow, this was a time when we needed to take their advice as they were right on about the impact that the storm would have.
-After Sunday’s 45-7 thrashing of the Rams, the Patriots are now (2-0) in games played in London having outscored the opposition by a total of 80-14 in those two games. In 2009 they beat Tampa Bay 35-7 at Wembley Stadium. Maybe they should drop the “New” and just become the England Patriots.
-I continue to be amazed at the great season the Miami Dolphins are having. Right now Joe Philbin has to be the front-runner for Coach of the Year honors. And here’s one other thing to remember, New England visits Miami on December 2nd for what is now scheduled to be a 1pm game. If the Dolphins continue to play well, don’t be surprised if that game isn’t “flexed” into the Sunday night slot on NBC as the game currently scheduled for that slot (Philadelphia @ Dallas) doesn’t appear to be too desirable.
-The longer this lockout goes on, the more I’m beginning to think that there will be no NHL hockey this winter.
-I guess the San Francisco Giants didn’t need the juice-man Melky Cabrera after al.
-Rob Gronkowski’s first touchdown celebration where he paid homage to the Buckingham Palace Guard was classic! His second touchdown celebration? Not so much.
-If you thought that Peyton Manning was all done after all of those neck injuries, think again!
-Unless John Farrell can win 20 games, hit 30 homeruns and drive in 100 RBI, I’m not sure how the Red Sox are a playoff team in 2013 either.
-It seems as if Hurricane Irene was tougher on Rhode Island than Hurricane Sandy was.
-Now that the World Series is over with, there are 7 members of the Red Sox who have become free agents. Most notably, David Ortiz and Cody Ross will hit the market at 12:01am Saturday although the organization has said that it would like to retain both players. The other free agents are pitchers Diasuke Matsuzaka, Vicente Padilla and Aaron Cook, first baseman James Loney and outfielder Scott Posednik.
-I don’t know if the Dallas Cowboys need to rid themselves of Tony Romo, Jason Garrett or even Jerry Jones? But something’s just not right in Big D and they need to shake it up because they are perennial underachievers.
-Despite the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy in the Big Apple, Thursday night’s season opener between the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets at the new Barclay’s Center will go on as scheduled.
-The Hyundai “don’t tell mom” commercial is one of the better ones on TV today.
-Isn’t it amazing how a natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy can take our minds completely off of the upcoming elections? It’s called priorities and perspective.
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