The LeBron Era Starts Off Slow in South Beach

The Celtics have been coined as one of the best defensive teams in the NBA ever since they assembled their own Big Three just a few seasons ago.

They proved that last night by holding the Miami Heat to just nine first quarter points, something that LeBron and company struggled to fight their way out of the rest of the game.

There was way too much one-on-one action going on at the beginning of the game. In fact, LeBron did the best job at trying to get his teammates involved. His unselfishness led to a lot of unforced turnovers, which he pointed out after the game.

Despite not being a big LeBron fan to say the least, I though LeBron played great last night. It almost looked like he was playing for Cleveland all over again, just with different players around him.

In the second half LeBron began to play more of his game and take on the form of the LeBron we all came to know in Cleveland. He began slashing to the basket and putting points on the board while everyone else on the floor were spectators.

He finished with 31 points even after the slow start. His rebound and assist production was down though as he finished with four rebounds and three assists.

Dwyane Wade was almost a non-factor the entire game, and understandably so. He was rusty due to sitting out all but three minutes of the preseason.

Chris Bosh didn't look all that great either if you judge him based on his offensive performance. He still showed how good he is in the rebound department.

It's obviously going to take a few games for LeBron, Wade, and Bosh to learn to play together effectively. They can't all be the players they use to be.

The Celtics proved that they're still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. They played smarter from start to finish. This was most likely a preview of a matchup that will most likely happen in this season's Eastern Conference Finals.

It will be interesting to see if LeBron takes on the same approach that he took at the start of last night's game, or will he take on the style of play that he had in Cleveland when he had little help.

What To Expect In Big Ben's Return

Somehow the Steelers managed to not only survive without Ben Roethlisberger, but actually flourish.

They're currently 3-1, with their only loss coming to my preseason Super Bowl favorite, the Baltimore Ravens. The crazy part is the fact that they did most of this with third-string quarterback Charlie Batch.

Now coming off of a bye week they get their franchise quarterback returns to the field after a four-game suspension.

This offense is a lot more dangerous then people give them credit for and Roethlisberger is going to obviously add to that firepower.

Rashard Mendenhall is quickly becoming one of the top running backs in the league, and the wide receivers aren't that bad either with Mike Wallace and Hines Ward.

The Steelers and the Ravens are going to go right down to the wire and the second place team will most likely snatch up one of the wildcards.

As for this weekend Roethlisberger gets a bit of a tune-up game with the Browns coming to town. They have their own questions at quarterback with Colt McCoy getting his first NFL start.

Roethlisberger just has to remember that this team was already a top team without him, so he can't come in and try to do too much. How disastrous would it be if Roethlisberger returns to action and throws a couple picks in a loss?

That's probably not going to happens, but we all know that anything can happen. Just ask the Saints after their loss to Max Hall and the Cardinals last week.

Big Ben's Career Stats

• 127 Passing TD's
• 81 Interceptions
• 91.7 QB Rating
• 19,302 Pass Yards
• 17 Comeback Wins
  

The Doc Is In, And Throws A No-No!

What a way to make your postseason debut! Roy Halladay just became the second pitcher in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in the postseason.

He was one walk away from pitching his second perfect game of the year to add to that.

Halladay painted the corners the entire game and lead with a first-pitch strike most of the game.

The mind blowing statistics go on and on in this one. Halladay threw just 24 balls out of the 104 total pitches he threw. He also took the count to three balls just three times.

Want more? He also added an RBI to his credit in the second inning.

If Halladay continues to pitch like this then there's no way the Phillies go down to anyone out of the National League or the American League. He pitched that good today.

The Phillies will have the luxury of sending him out on short rest if things get sticky in any of their series as well.

Don't forget how good this pitching staff is either. They have Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt still to pitch in the next two games before Halladay takes the mound again on Friday presumably.

It's also important to know that the Reds numbers-wise are the best hitting team in the NL so Halladay didn't do this to just anybody.

As we all expected, the Phillies look to be in good shape at making their third straight trip to the World Series.