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Miami need every big and abled body they have on their roster to beat the Celtics.  They’re probably going to need to go through them at some point during the post season. After last night’s Celtics 85-82 win, giving them the lead in the East, Miami might have to do it without the home advantage. It was close without Udonis Haslem, but the Celtics width and depth in the paint is too much for pretty much everyone in the league. Even the Lakers, who won their last two NBA titles mostly thanks due to their Odom-Gasol-Bynum combo.

The Celtics are a dirty team. Lets face it. Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo aren’t nice guys. Their attitude is what drives the Celtics forward and makes them the team to beat in the East, but the Celtics get too much love from the refs. Too many fouls not getting called. If you let the Celtics beat up on team, let the other teams do that as well. The Lakers won despite that last year. The refs in the NBA suck anyway, lets hope they won’t be biased in the playoffs. Miami need more of that attitude, not the dirtiness. A healthy Udonis Haslem should help. They aren’t that far off from the Celtics as some may think.

Speaking of beasts from the East – Dwight Howard had another huge night. When he really put himself up to it, he’s quite unstoppable. He pretty much beat the Celtics by himself on Christmas. He pretty much beat the Lakers last night by himself. Scoring 31 points, adding 13 rebounds and 3 blocks, the he was too much for the Lakers to handle (89-75). I don’t see Orlando winning the East this year – not enough players contribute on each given night to make this team really scary, but Howard can handle alone any front line in front of him. In a series, after a lot of wear and tear, I’m pretty sure that won’t be enough.

Oh, and yay Wizards – First road win of the season against the amazingly pathetic Cleveland Cavaliers. Again, it just makes me realize how good LeBron James is.