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.<br />Yet the Boston Celtics have still found a way to become a thorn in the side of the Miami Heat.<br />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.<br />However one look at the standings and it is clear that the current No. 3 seed is literally outshooting everyone’s expectations.<br />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.<br />But with the Chicago Bulls out of the way, the Celtics have jumped back into the picture as tormentors.<br />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.
