Key injuries shape Eastern Conference playoff race

The Miami Heat have claimed the number one spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs by amassing an insurmountable lead going into the final stretch of the regular season. The Heat have played well this season but would they still be in the same position had it not been for a couple of key injuries suffered by some of their conference foes?

The Chicago Bulls led by Derrick Rose have held the Eastern Conference’s best record for the past two seasons but Rose hasn’t played a single game this season. Without Rose, the Bulls are currently sitting in fifth place in the conference standings.

Miami is currently sporting a double-digit lead over the next best team in the conference and have started resting their stars for the playoffs. It’s not guaranteed that having Rose would have given the Bulls the best record for a third consecutive year but you can bet the Heat wouldn’t be resting so easily on their laurels had Rose been healthy this season.

Miami has taken advantage of its massive lead using the opportunity to rest its stars. Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Ray Allen and Mario Chalmers should all be healthy, re-energized and ready for a lengthy playoff run.

But while Miami gets to let some of their injured players heal, other teams in the conference are forced to continue on short-handed. Some teams will be without key players throughout the playoffs and that could greatly affect who comes out of the East.

Of course most people expect Miami to reach the Finals for a third consecutive year and it will probably happen. While the big three in Miami look to be healthier than they were during last year’s postseason, some of the teams that looked to be their biggest threats will be missing big name stars.

We already mentioned Rose earlier but the injuries to Boston Celtics’ point guard Rajon Rondo and Indiana Pacers’ small forward Danny Granger may help make Miami’s path to the Finals a little easier.

The Celtics and Pacers gave Miami fits in the playoffs last year and both of those series went longer than the Heat’s Finals series versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pacers had Miami in a 2-1 hole before Miami stormed back to take the series in six games while the Celtics took them to a decisive Game 7 before finally succumbing to the Heat.

The Pacers are still pretty stacked throughout their roster even without Granger and have played better this year than they did last season despite not having Granger in the lineup most of the year but the playoffs are more about matchups than they are about regular season records.

The Pacers matchup better against the Heat than any other team in the conference. Paul George, David West and Roy Hibbert have the length and ability to give Miami fits and keep them out of some of the things they like to do.

The Heat love it when James gets to play in the post but James has shown an unwillingness to do so when West is in the paint. West is just as strong as James is if not stronger and plays with a tenacity that few players who guard James in the post can match.

West is also a beast on the offensive side of the floor so not only is he an effective defender against James, he gives James fits on the other end as well. George defends James tough on the perimeter so it doesn’t matter where James plays he has a difficult time playing Indiana.

Miami likes to set screens and picks to force the Pacers to switch George off of James which is much easier to do without Granger in the lineup. Granger has just as much height and length as George which would have made it even harder for the Heat to find mismatches for James.

Granger also helps stretch the defense with his long range scoring. If the Pacers meet the Heat in this year’s playoffs, watch how effectively they defend James and Wade then imagine how much more difficult the Heat would have it if Granger were in the Pacers’ lineup.

Boston always plays Miami tough whether it is the regular season or the playoffs. The Celtics genuinely hate the Heat but most importantly they have no fear of the Heat.

Celtics’ guard Jason Terry has been quick to remind the Heat what he did to them in the Finals as a member of the Dallas Mavericks a few seasons back. The Heat usually have no answer for Kevin Garnett who uses his height and shooting ability to exploit the Heat where they are weakest.

If the Celtics do meet the Heat in this year’s playoffs though, the player they will most miss is their point guard Rondo. Rondo always seems to up his intensity in the postseason.

While he may seem to coast a little bit during the regular season, he seems to post at least one triple-double per playoff series. He posted a triple-double in one game versus the Heat last postseason and was two rebounds away from another triple-double during another game in that series.

He also dropped 44 points on the Heat during one game in that series. When Rondo is on his game he is difficult to guard and it doesn’t hurt that he’s a pretty tenacious defender in his own right.

I guarantee the Heat still remember how Rondo just abused former Heat point guard Mike Bibby on both ends of the floor just a few post seasons ago.

What will hurt Boston more than Rondo’s injury though is that guard Avery Bradley hasn’t stepped up in Rondo’s absence like they felt he would. Garnett has been out the past few weeks with an injury but Jeff Green has responded in a big way taking up the slack while Garnett has been out.

If Green continues to play as well as he has been playing when Garnett returns, the Celtics will still be a tough out for the Heat.

Although the New York Knicks have been playing well as of late, no one believes they can truly threaten the Heat. Their most effective player against Miami is still in the lineup but is playing with a bulging disk in his neck which will affect how much he plays if the Knicks meet the Heat in the playoffs.

Tyson Chandler has been in and out of the lineup while nursing that neck injury and his rebounding and shot blocking numbers have been affected by it. J.R. Smith has raised his level of play lately which is a good sign but it may not be enough to help Carmelo Anthony and crew take the Heat in a seven-game series.

So while it seems that Miami’s road to the Finals may be a little easier than it was last season let’s not forget that the Heat also had to play through numerous injuries last season on their way to the Finals. They were without Chris Bosh for a long stretch of the postseason and Dwyane Wade also struggled with injuries throughout the playoffs.

Even James missed the critical moments of a playoff game due to cramping. But if the Heat can fight through injuries and still win it all, who’s to say that one of these other teams can’t?

It does help when you have the best player on the planet playing for your team though. 

Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2. He can be contacted at sportmentalist@yahoo.com and be sure to follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist.