Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are not walking through that door — at least not together or accompanied by Rajon Rondo and Doc Rivers.
Yet the Boston Celtics have still found a way to become a thorn in the side of the Miami Heat.
If pundits are being honest, no one would have predicted that the scrappy Beantown bunch would be one of the hottest teams in the league, let alone their own Eastern Conference.
However one look at the standings and it is clear that the current No. 3 seed is literally outshooting everyone’s expectations.
Not only are the Celtics the fourth highest scoring team in the NBA (106 PPG), but they sport a top 15 defense and control the boards with 49 per game — good enough for a sixth place ranking.
But with the Chicago Bulls out of the way, the Celtics have jumped back into the picture as tormentors.
Their 2-0 status against the Heat this season has made it harder for Miami to jump up a spot to assure themselves that dodging a second round matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers is possible.
