Don't know what else to say other than we'll have to agree to disagree. With respect to your premise that the Heat dictate what you do, and "no one's good enough to turn that around on them," I say then why are we even having this discussion? There's no futility in considering ways the Celts can improve their chances of beating the Heat. Also, as I've alluded to before, I don't think this is the difference between small ball v. a big front line. I just think the Celtics overreacted to the Heat by loading up on guards and small forwards. As you suggest, there are two reasons for this: 1) to match up to the Heat and 2) to fit Rondo's style of play.
My thinking is that because Lebron and Co. are so good at what they do – transition, pressure defense in the perimeter, kick and drive – the Celtics shouldn't spent all of their resources containing or limiting their strength. Instead, they should have balanced their acquisitions by attacking the Heat's weakness, while concurrently strengthening their own interior/rebounding – a deficiency that's plagued them for several years.
As for playing with Rondo, it's nice to see the Celtics scoring more, which I think is a direct result of having more athletic guards/forwards that can run with Rondo. But that could have been achieved with one or two less perimeter players.
Finally, I don't recall what free agents were available during the off-season; nor do i know what trades could have been made. I don't think paying Chris Kaman 8 million dollars would have been smart. But picking up a player like Kenyon Martin would be invaluable. Finding a way to trade for Gortat may not cure all ills, but it would help. Bringing up Fab Melo and allowing him to develop his game with the big boys would be an option. Trading Jeff Green or not signing him in the first place would be better than the status quo. Hindsight is of course, 20-20. But all I know is that it is painful to watch the celtics get dominated on a nightly basis on the boards. It was painful to watch them lose Game 7 to the Lakers because of rebounding. It's painful watching this team against the Bulls' frontline, who by the way will have Rose back in time for the playoffs. And most importantly, it's painful watching Garnett expend all his energy on the defensive end, but with diminishing returns because he is the last and only line of defense after our porous perimeter.
The root of the celtics problem is the Perkins trade. Granted Perk is a shell of his former self with the Thunder. But so is Green. I feel like once that trade was made, the management made a philosophical decision to go small to adapt to Rondo's game. I don't think that style of play wins games in the playoffs, unless you have Wade and Lebron as your backcourt.
