Squandered Opportunities

Could have had this one. Needed this one. Definitely no room for error now.

The Celtics were able to keep the Heat somewhat under control and had plenty of chances to really open up the lead. But in the end Lebron proved to be too much.

It was tight throughout the fourth quarter. I don't think the C's lead extended much further than six points.

With right around 2 minutes left the Celtics grabbed a three point leader after back to back three pointers by Delonte and Ray. But Lebron came right back and drilled a three right in front of the Boston bench. That one they should have seen coming. Whenever Lebron just plants himself in one spot outside the three point line and does his little toe tapping fake then you should know what's coming; an off balanced three ball, which goes in more often than not. Really annoying.

But still we had a chance to take this one. After Paul tied the score with around 30 seconds left the Heat handed the ball right back to us when Lebron tried to get cute and dribbled the ball off his foot. Celtics ball, 19 seconds left, Heat with no fouls to give. That last play was really hard to watch. After Celtics fans everywhere preached to everyone and anyone who'd listen about how this team puts themselves over the edge by executing down the stretch, they came out with that disaster. It LOOKED like it was supposed to be the same play they ran so perfectly in Game 1 last series against the Knicks, just from the opposite wing. But it just never materialized and Paul was left to hoist up an off balance jumper off one foot. Uncool.

Overtime was a disaster. C's committed four turnovers and really never had a chance. The Heat's young legs took advantage.

So now we find ourselves in a 3-1 hole. I don't want to sound like I'm fooling myself but crazier things have happened. Anyone who's watched a lot of games in the Big 3 era know that these guys bring out their best games when their backs are against the wall. Even in meaningless games they'd need a little bit of a wake up call to kick it into gear. Being pushed to the brink of elimination is more than a wake up call. It'll be interesting to see how the Big 3 execute. If they don't they could be playing their last game together.