Wounded Celtics Showing Their Age

Added on May 04, 2011 by Scott in

NBA

The Boston Celtics impressive sweep of the Knicks in the opening round of the playoffs must seem like a distant memory. A quick 0-2 hole to the hated Miami Heat has the Boys from Beantown on the brink of elimination. Making matters worse is the growing list of players in green and white nursing nagging injuries, including aging stars Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, who both spent time in the locker room receiving treatment in last night’s 102-91 loss.

Allen suffered a bruised chest and Pierce strained his left Achilles. Neither player was particularly effective in the Game 2 defeat, although both returned to action after exiting. Allen finished with 7 points on 2 of 7 shooting, while Pierce dropped 13 on 5-11 field goals.

The good news is the ailments don’t appear to be serious enough to prevent them from playing in Game 3 on Thursday. The bad news is the aging core of Boston’s lineup looks like they are wearing down at the wrong time.

In addition to Allen and Pierce’s injuries, Kevin Garnett has been MIA and Shaquille O’Neal is still sidelined with Achilles and calf strains. As a result, the Heat have been the more physical team in the paint. Shaq “could” make a cameo tomorrow, but it’s doubtful he’ll see many minutes or provide much more than a symbolic morale boost.

Allen is hopeful a day of rest will be all that’s needed for the Celtics to recharge their sputtering batteries.

“I don’t think anybody’s ever 100 percent at this time of year. It’s just part of the game,” said Allen. “It’s been a long year; you just deal with it. Whatever ails you I’m sure [the Heat] have the same issues; everybody has them. You use the off-days to get your body better.”

Boston is a veteran bunch, so expecting them to roll over would be unwise. However, their Big Three are a combined 102 years of age, while the Heat’s Big Three are 82. A 20-year edge this time of year adds up, especially when two of the younger trio are named LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Source: ESPN.com