The Luck of the Irish?

Do the Boston Celtics have one more post-season run left in them? With two convincing wins over the Miami Heat, it appears that the Celtics are as dangerous as ever. Given that Miami and Chicago have struggled of late, it would be foolish to count the Celtics out. When looking at the Eastern Conference, it appears that the Celtics and Knicks are peaking at the right time while the Bulls, Heat, Magic, and Sixers are declining. The East is as open as ever, as the Bulls seems that they can not stay healthy with reigning MVP Derek Rose coming in and out of the lineup and Richard Hamilton not meeting high expectations. The Heat on the other hand, do not seem as untouchable as everyone deemed they would be when the stars aligned in Miami.

So why not Boston? It is true that any chance they might have depends on the health of the trio of aging superstars, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen while Rajon Rondo orchestrates the offense and is essentially the head of the Celtic snake. If they can stay healthy, they are capable of hanging with the likes of the Bulls and Heat as they showed tonight by defeating the Heat in Miami, which is not an easy task. The Celtics may lack frontcourt depth, but it is not like Miami is dominating in the post anyways and Chicago only has one legit post scorer in Boozer. Furthermore, Celtic fans must be ecstatic about the development of Avery Bradley, a tenacious guard capable of slowing down stars Dwayne Wade and Derek Rose, is playing with supreme confidence which has allowed him to excel on both defense and offense.

Miami and Chicago are definitely the favorites in the East, but the Celtics remain a threat as they are peaking at the right time. With the luck of the Irish, do not be surprised if Boston makes one last run at a championship.