Miami's star-studded cast faces biggest test is series with Boston

The Heat were 1-3 against Boston this season with LeBron James averaging 28.8 points, 6.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds.

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Playoff Schedule GAME 1  at MIA, Sun., May 1, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC GAME 2  at MIA, Tue., May 3, 7 p.m. ET, TNT GAME 3  at BOS, Sat., May 7, 8 p.m. ET, ABC GAME 4  at BOS, Mon., May 9, 7 p.m. ET, TNT GAME 5  at MIA, Wed., May 11, If Necessary GAME 6  at BOS, Fri., May 13, If Necessary GAME 7  at MIA, Mon., May 16, If Necessary

Chris Bosh approached the Miami Heat locker room Wednesday night expecting to revel in the first playoff series win of his eight-year career. Did his teammates celebrate with him?

"No, I wish," said Bosh after Miami finished its five-game victory over the visiting 76ers this week. "It's funny, somebody told me when you go to the second round, it's crazy, everybody hugging ... It wasn't that way for us."

Opportunity will be the Heat's reward, as he went on to note. They can now avenge themselves against the Celtics, who have mocked Miami by tweet ("It's been a pleasure to bring my talents to South Beach," Paul Pierce posted after Boston's win in Miami in November) and by trick (when Rajon Rondo tried to invade their impromptu huddle in February).

This has the makings of an instant-hot rivalry. It may also be short-lived, based on the ages of Miami's upside and Boston's downside. But it goes deep into the past of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who have all been humbled by the Celtics in recent years. And don't forget the lingering passions of Heat president Pat Riley, who put this team together and whose early career was formed by the postseason fights between the '80s Celtics and his Lakers.

The Heat could glance at their roster and write off this postseason as a learning experience because the three stars are only now completing their first season together. In fact, they couldn't be hungrier. They can anticipate the backlash they'll receive if they don't win now -- and that's the least of their incentives. In the main, they want to overcome the Celtics while Boston is still in championship form.

Others have felt this way in earlier eras. The Lakers overcame a tradition of poor results to knock off Boston in the '80s, as did the Pistons, who in turn were beaten by the team they'd bullied -- Michael Jordan's Bulls. Think, too, about how much it meant for Kobe Bryant to vindicate himself and his franchise last year against Boston. James and Wade in particular don't want to spend the remainder of their careers hearing about how they were never able to prevail during Boston's window of contention.

James was downplaying this matchup, for a good reason: Even if Miami wins, two more rounds will wait ahead. "We always felt it would happen at some point," he said. "We'd have to play Boston and get through Boston to get to where we want to get."

But Miami coach Erik Spoelstra -- the protégé of Riley that he is -- embraced the moment. "This is a matchup that all of the fans will enjoy, and players on both sides will look forward to it," he said. "We understand where we are in this league and where the Celtics are. If we want to get to anywhere we want to go, we have to go through them.

"And it wouldn't be right if we didn't play them."

So which team is hungriest? Is it the Celtics, who never take tomorrow as granted and who are driven to make up for their Game 7 loss in the NBA Finals at Los Angeles last June? Wade will make the case that he has waited too long since he led Miami to the 2005-06 championship in his third NBA season.

"It seems like an eternity to think back to '06," he said. "I pull things from that, as in moments in games and understanding what it takes. But I don't look back too much in reference. It was a different time, different players, different moment. So I don't go back."

As James sat beside Wade, listening to his teammate talk about that championship, it must have provided a sense of motivation that is greater than any ambition to knock off the Celtics. Wade has something James lacks, and this is not a matter of jealousy -- or else they never would have joined together. It is about finishing what they started, recognizing what each of them gave up in order to try to win together, and making sure they make good on their potential with a postseason victory that would define them in a most positive way.