There is the path of less resistance, one that would take the Heat through the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs, the winner of an Atlanta Hawks-Brooklyn Nets series in the second, and then whoever is left standing between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.

Or it could be the Boston Celtics in the first round, possibly the Chicago Bulls in the second and then that showdown with either the Pacers or Knicks in the East finals.

For now, the focus is the Heat's opponent on the weekend of April 20-21, when the postseason opens at AmericanAirlines Arena.

And the fact that, even at this late date, it still could be the Celtics is rather remarkable. Yes, Rajon Rondo is out, even as he teases with pregame shooting. But Kevin Garnett will be back, and be back rested. And Jeff Green is hitting his stride (something the Heat are well aware of), while Avery Bradley finally appears to be finding his way.

In fact, it will be interesting to see how the Heat handle this upcoming week. Beat the Bucks on Tuesday night and fall to the Celtics in Friday, and it would all but assure Milwaukee as the first-round opponent.

When Ray Allen left Boston in the offseason for the Heat as a free agent, few could have forecast that his first taste playoff taste of the Celtics could be in the first round. Yet even in these waning days of the season, it stands as a possibility.

Fear the Celtics? That would be overstatement, even with the Heat's 2-1 deficit in the season series. Respect? That sounds about right.

"Boston has, from the time I've been there, been a veteran team and gets guys in that zone in at that time of the year," Allen said, a reminder of how the Celtics, amid similar doubts a year ago at this time, stood 24 minutes from advancing to last season's NBA Finals in place of the Heat.

Even amid the Celtics' current uneven ride, Allen knows Garnett, Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers well enough to know the playoffs are different.

"Once you get toward the end of the season," he said, "you know what you're playing for and what you're dealing with."

Rivers recently went as far as to say the Celtics could benefit in getting the Heat early in the playoffs, while his veterans are still fresh.

"We'll play anybody, any time when we're right," Rivers said. "We like us against any of these teams."

Confidence certainly has never been an issue with the Celtics.

"We like how we match up with Miami. We like how we match up with pretty much anybody in the East," Pierce told reporters a week ago.

No, these are not the same Celtics as a year ago, not with Rondo out, Allen gone.

"It's pretty telling from where we've been over the years 'til now," Allen said of Boston even having the possibility of being a mere No. 8 seed.

And yet, it still could happen, with this week's Heat schedule (and approach) going a long way toward determining their first-round opponent (keep in mind, the Bucks hold the playoff tiebreaker over the Celtics).

"Whatever situation they're going through, and where they've come to get to where they are," Allen said of his former team, "we don't want to help them change their fortunes."

Or maybe there will be no need.

These final two weeks of the season will go a long way toward determining the ease of the Heat's postseason commute, one that could be Milwaukee-Atlanta-New York/Indiana, or one that could be Boston-Chicago-New York/Indiana, which would appear to be a path of far greater resistance.

Notes

THE SHAQ JERSEY: With this past week's retirement of Shaquille O'Neal's jersey by the Los Angeles Lakers, the question becomes what becomes of his Heat jersey. The thought here is to wait. There is no way a player who spent only 2 1/2 seasons with a franchise should be the third player to have his number retired (after Alonzo Mourning and then Tim Hardaway). Dwyane Wade, whenever the times comes, should be next. Then Udonis Haslem. Then, and only then, consider Shaq. Even then, the opinion here is to move on, considering the way it ended, with O'Neal only giving two true seasons to the franchise. Of course, Pat Riley does enjoy a moment, which is among the reasons jerseys of Michael Jordan and Dan Marino are on display high above the court at AmericanAirlines Arena. The though here is Riley will retire Shaq's jersey, which could therefore have the timing of a Shaq decision determined by the timing of Riley's tenure with the team.

PART II: Then there is Riley himself, and how the team will handle the honor for the most significant influence in the franchise's 25 seasons. Somehow, an Armani hanging from the rafters seems a bit out of place. Instead, the Heat should follow the lead of several college programs (and the Celtics with Red Auerbach) and add Riley's signature to the court at AmericanAirlines Arena, making it "Pat Riley Court at AmericanAirlines Arena." Unlike the retirement of a player's number, which is hard to do while a player is still playing, there is no need to wait for such a Riley move in the short term.

KEYON'S CALLING: Those who have stopped by this space in recent months are well aware of the call for the Heat to add a third point guard, frankly seeing no downside. The need became more apparent with the running into the ground of Norris Cole during the absence of Mario Chalmers this past week. Yet with Fort Lauderdale native Keyon Dooling back in the game, he instead signed with the Memphis Grizzlies. It seems as if a reunion never was in the cards. Earlier this season, Dooling told the Sun Sentinel, "They never tried to sign me or re-sign me. Every time I was a free agent, I would always put in a call to Miami."

KEYON CONNECTION: Among those who helped hook up Dooling with Memphis was former South Florida-based agent Jason Levien, who now is a Grizzlies executive. That included bringing Dooling to Florida to gauge his conditioning, after being inactive since last season. "That was a big issue to make sure he was in a place he could play," Levien told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "He's a guy who focuses on keeping himself in shape. . . . I think he's ready to go. He's a smart enough player and a guy who has kept himself in good enough shape that there's a chance he can help us at some point." Dooling was ineligible to return to the Boston Celtics because of the way he handled his retirement in the offseason.

THE 30 CLUB: When Carmelo Anthony scored 50 points in Tuesday's New York Knicks victory at AmericanAirlines Arena, he became the sixth opponent with at least 10 career 30-point games against the Heat, joining Michael Jordan (19), Allen Iverson (16), Karl Malone (13), LeBron James (11) and Paul Pierce (10).

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