LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are playing as one. Do the Boston Celtics have an answer for the Heat duo./AP

The Boston Celtics are old and hurt.

This is their Big 3′s last stand.

The Miami Heat are going to the close the final chapter on the Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce era of the Celtics, but the truth is, they should put them away.

Miami has the game’s best player – three-time MVP LeBron James – and Dwyane Wade has reemerged. The two are working in unison and everyone else is falling in line.

Just don’t see how those aging and aching Celtics get past them.

Boston struggled with the Atlanta Hawks, but won. Got pushed to a Game 7 by the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers, but won.

Now the Celtics got Miami.

They shouldn’t win, should they?

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Up next for Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics? An familiar rival. The Philadelphia 76ers./AP Photo.

Whenever these two teams met in the 1980s, it was classic.

Bird vs. Dr. J. McHale vs. Barkley. Moses vs. Parish.

Go back even further to the 1960s. Legends emerged.

Wilt vs. Russell. Havlicek vs. Greer. Jones vs. Walker.

On Saturday, the Sixers and Celtics will renew their rivalry in the Eastern Conference semifinals as the two teams haven’t faced each in the postseason since 2002 when the first round was still a best-of-5 series.

Boston won 3-2.

Who will take this series and likely face Miami in the conference finals?

Go Green.

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(1) Chicago Bulls (50-16)

1st round foe: (8) Philadelphia 76ers (35-31).

Biggest concern vs. 76ers: Don’t have a true superstar, but enough good players to make you have to compete to beat them.

Last 10: 7-3 (Won 3)

Strengths: Defense. The Bulls lead the NBA in fewest points allowed (88.17 per game). They have front-court depth, great team chemistry and a closer in Derrick Rose.

Weaknesses: Key injuries to their two best players – Rose and Luol Deng – make them vulnerable. Although they’ve had success without Rose, in the playoffs, he’ll need to be close to 100 percent to reach NBA Finals.

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If the NBA stays in lockout mode for the entire season, I may miss the interviews more than the play and the players.

Having been in my share of NBA locker rooms and at my share of press conferences over the years, you have a good idea of what a player might say. Most use cliche lines like, “We played hard” or “We wanted to come out with great energy.”

But then there are those who throw caution to the wind and either say what pops in their head or what has been on their mind for so long that they can’t contain it anymore.

Now we’re going to get some real doozys if the lockout goes all season, but right now, check out some of the ones that have always left me either laughing, scratching my head or amazed.

Allen Iverson – “We talking about practice.”

I miss A.I.

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He's in a new uniform, but same foe awaits LeBron James in the NBA playoffs - the Boston Celtics./Photo by AP.

Goodbye Shield. Welcome back logo.

With the NFL Draft ending today, let’s talk NBA Playoffs.

The first round was good. Correction. It was great.

The Memphis Grizzlies stunned everyone except Charles Barkley in beating the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in six games, the Boston Celtics posted the only sweep in a first-round series and Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant has been the best player in the playoffs so far.

Now the conference semifinals are here. We’ve got the match up everyone wants (Miami Heat vs. the Celtics), the one we didn’t expect (Grizzlies vs. Thunder), the one that will end quickly (Atlanta Hawks vs. the Bulls) and the one that will last longer than it should (Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Dallas Mavericks).

Let’s do this:

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This picture is hanging on my wall. Check out the fro people. Dr. J. was one of the all-time great leapers, period.

These guys did more than just jump out the gym.

They made you go, “Oh lawd” like the late Bernie Mac used to say.

We’ll always miss you, Bernie.

Anyway, these guys had crazy hops and did things that no one else can duplicate. You got guys who can dunk, but can they have the hang time, elevation and do so with a forcefulness?

That’s the definition of a leaper to me.

So before continuing, you know the routine people.

These guys are not on my list: Kenny “Sky” Walker, Dee Brown, Harold Minor, Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin (he may be in the future if he stays healthy), Larry Nance, Steve Francis, Kobe Bryant, J.R. Rider, Josh Smith or Gerald Green.

So with that being said, let’s get to it.

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Jordan Farmar served up a facial on Kevin Garnett. Ouch.

The Los Angeles Lakers showed up tonight.

Well, the real Los Angeles Lakers showed up and put a hurtin’ on the Boston Celtics, 89-67, in Tuesday’s Game 6 to force and seventh and deciding game Thursday in Los Angeles. 

They clamped down defensively, Ron Artest showed up and Kobe Bryant set the tone. Couple that with Boston center Kendrick Perkins going down with a knee injury in the first quarter and that was the beginning of the end for the Celtics tonight.

Now Perkins did walk out the arena on his own, but if he can’t go for Game 7, Boston is done. 

Coming into the game with a 3-2 lead, the Celtics had a chance to close out the series, but also realized they had a game to play with. So you didn’t see them come out with the emotion needed to win on the road.

No need to talk too much about this because there isn’t much to discuss.

The Celtics played poorly (shot 33 percent for the game), the Lakers played better and Bryant was the best player on the floor (26 points, 11 rebounds).

So what are keys for Game 7?

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The Boston Celtics are still up in this Eastern Conference finals series, 3-2, but would be wise to close it out in Friday's Game 6 at home to avoid a deciding Game 7 in Orlando against the Magic.

Uh oh.

After falling down 3-0 in a best-of-7 Eastern Conference finals series against the Boston Celtics, the Orlando Magic have won two in a row with the latest being a 113-92 win Wednesday night at home.

Now with series mojo on its side, Orlando can even the series in Game 6 Friday in Boston. The Celtics still have the advantage and history on their side as no team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.

However, the Celtics have reason to be concerned.

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The big man of Boston's Big Three, power forward Kevin Garnett remains the emotional leader of the surging Celtics.

People can blame the coaching, the lack of effort and the inability for one player to take over a game, but the Orlando Magic’s biggest problem can be narrowed down to one thing: The Boston Celtics.

Playing the best defense I’ve seen in a long, long time, Boston has had an answer for everything Orlando has thrown out, which truthfully hasn’t looked like much, but that’s beside the point.

Boston has won every match up, its bench is playing better, its coach Doc Rivers doing a number on Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy and its veterans – Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace – have raised their level of play.

They remind me of old guys at the YMCA that turn it up when stiff competition comes into the gym. Trust me, the Magic were stiff competition coming into the Eastern Conference finals after sweeping their first two playoff opponents, but the Celtics are taking care of them.

With all that being said, I think Orlando gets this game tonight even though it’s in Boston. Can’t see how a team that talented can get swept.

Pride has got to kick in at some point so they’ll get Game 4 and might get Game 5 at home, but it s not going further than six games.

Do I hear “BEAT LA” chants coming from the TD Garden?

If Dwight Howard can't play with fouls in Game 3 tonight, the Orlando Magic can kiss their championship aspirations goodbye.

We’re about 90 minutes before the start of Game 3  in Boston where the Orlando Magic will try avoid going down 3-0 to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

Here are three keys for the Magic to win this game and stay in the series because if they lose tonight, it’s over.

1. Get Rashard Lewis going. After averaging 17 points in Orlando’s sweep of the Atlanta Hawks in the conference semifinals, Lewis has scored 11 points total in the first two games of this series against the Celtics. At the same time, he can’t be standstill jump shooter. Got to mix his offensive game up.

2. Howard must keep cool. He’s been called for 42 fouls in 10 playoff games. His lowest foul total has been three and that was in Game 1 against the Hawks. Calls are going to go against him tonight, but he can’t let that frustrate him. Defense will win this game and the Magic need the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the game.

3. Contain Rondo. While the Big Three – Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce – are key components to the Celtics, point guard Rajon Rondo is the one who makes the team go. Jameer Nelson has to put pressure on him to play the defense and get Rondo in foul trouble. That is a sure-fire way to keep him from dictating the game.

The Magic are more talented than the Celtics, but Boston has had the edge in terms of point-guard play and bench play in this series and have the edge in championship experience.

Although Orlando made it to the NBA Finals last season, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Magic in five games. The Celtics beat that same Laker team in six games to win it all in 2008.