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What Does The Celtics’ Win Over The Heat Prove?

Sunday’s 85-82 Celtics victory over the Heat left lots to talk about. For the Celtics, Rajon Rondo played well and Paul Pierce did not, while LeBron James didn’t come through for the Heat when the game was on the line. But the big story is Boston walking away with its third consecutive win against a Miami team full of stars.

Boston’s win propels them back to the top of the conference, just ahead of the Heat in the standings. They’ll continue to battle it out for the top seed – their final matchup against each other is scheduled for April 10 – and the debate over which team is the better remains hotly contested. Did Sunday’s game prove anything?

The Heat consistently fall short: While the Heat are one of the league’s best, says Kirk Minihane at WEEI.com, “after Sunday’s 85-82 loss to the Celtics, you could argue that all of that means nothing.” It doesn’t matter who else the Heat beat, they’ll be “judged against one team and one team only”: the Celtics. “Right now, it’s tough to be little brother.”

And it’ll only get worse: “Miami cannot beat Boston. Not now. Not later. Not in a seven-game playoff series. Not gonna happen,” says Bill Reiter at Fox Sports. For the Heat to win the title, they’ll need help from another team to knock off the Celtics for them. “The Celtics are too tough, too mentally superior and too hungry when these teams match up.” It just seems that the Heat “can’t beat them at all. Period.”

There’s time to turn it around: The Heat have been playing well of late – as well as anyone, says Dashiell Bennett at Business Insider. “But the playoffs are still month away, right? If they keep improving at this rate, eventually they’ll get better than the best, right? That the order of things is the same order it’s been since Opening Night doesn’t really matter, right?” We knew all of this already before Sunday. “Please hold your breath until June.”

Getty photo (Jim Rogash), via