After giving up 107 points to the offensively challenged Pacers, who had not scored that much since February 25 against the Lakers, many discussions in the national media involved the matchup nightmares Indiana posed to Miami. The Heat are too old, the Heat cannot contain Indiana's bigs, Bosh disappears against the Pacers, and Indiana's home-court advantage will be too much for the Heat to overcome. Some of these points are valid, but last time I checked, somebody has to beat LeBron James and the Miami Heat four times out of seven to win a series. Only one team, the 2011 Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, has accomplished that feat out of 14 opportunities.
This marks the third straight year the Heat and Pacers have squared off in the playoffs, and the Pacers have been in a position every year to dethrone the Heat. In 2012, Indiana clobbered Miami by 19 points in Game 3 to put themselves up 2-1 in the series. They dominated the Heat defensively, holding Miami to a paltry 75 points each in Games 2 and 3, as Miami had to play without their best big man Chris Bosh for the remainder of the series. How did the Heat respond? Like legendary champs. LeBron played arguably one of his three best playoff games, with 40 points, 18 rebounds, and 9 assists and D-Wade added 30 points. 70 points from the 1-2 punch. Miami won by 8 points in Game 4 and never looked back, winning Game 5 by 32 points and then Game 6 in Indiana by 12. Simply, Indiana's cockiness woke up the sleeping giant, as Miami scored over 100 points in the final three games of the series.
Last year, Indiana was in a similar position. They outplayed the Heat in the first two games in Miami, splitting the results in two exceptional clashes. The front-line of Indiana, like the previous year, posed severe matchup issues with Miami, as Roy Hibbert, David West, and Paul George obliterated the Heat down low (averaged 68 points per game in first 2 games of series). Heading to Indiana, Miami was on the ropes yet again and once again they delivered with a resounding performance in Game 3, winning by 18 points. Miami went on to win every decisive game in the series in convincing fashion, as they won Game 5 by 11 and Game 7 by 23.
Indiana is not the only team to wilt against Miami in the playoffs. In fact, whenever the Heat have lost Game 1 during the Big 3 Era (since 2010-2011), they have gone on to win every remaining game of that series to win 4-1. That's a 16-2 record following a Game 1 loss in the playoffs (2011 against Chicago, 2012 vs. OKC, 2013 vs Chicago, 2013 vs San Antonio).
Now, past performances do NOT dictate future outcomes. We live in the present, and Indiana still has a favorable position. Miami is another year older, and there's a reason why no one has reached FOUR consecutive NBA Finals since 1984-87 Boston Celtics. The playoffs are grueling and coming back to this same position year-after-year takes a toll after a while. The 2003 and 2011 Lakers could not make it past the second round in their quest for four consecutive Finals appearances, each time having been blown out in the clinching game. The Spurs, arguably the most consistent team this century, have NOT even reached back-to-back Finals appearances in the Tim Duncan era. The Heat have a chance to reach immortality if they make it past this round, but they have shown signs of aging this season.
Furthermore, Indiana plays a brand of basketball that matches up well with Miami. Hibbert and West down low gives Miami fits, as Bosh has a difficult time dealing with Hibbert's strengths and James is not accustomed to guarding post players for most of the game. If Miami puts two bigs against Hibbert and West (combination of Bosh, Haslem, and Andersen), it compromises their strengths on the offensive end. LeBron labored through most of yesterday's game and by his standards, had a very subpar game on the defensive end. Spoelstra must make some key personnel decisions heading into the next game and the rest of the series (starting Battier, playing Haslem more minutes, playing Andersen more minutes while limiting Bosh's minutes).
They Pacers played all regular season long to get home-court advantage against the Heat. They finally have it and have beaten Miami five straight times on their home court, dating back to last year's postseason. Indiana always ups their level of energy and plays their best basketball against Miami, who has knocked them out in each of the past two years. They feel their time is coming and battled through some difficult stages just to get to this point.
However, the Heat play their best basketball when they are under the most pressure. Look no further than the 2nd round against Brooklyn. In Game 4, following an offensive explosion by the Nets, LeBron scored FORTY-NINE points as the Heat withstood a valiant Brooklyn effort and beat the Nets by six points. That was the first glimpse of adversity the Heat went through this postseason, after they swept Charlotte in five games. As they well know, no road to the championship is easy and there will be bumps and bruises along the way. Now, they face a series deficit for the first time since last year's NBA Finals.
As long as they have the best player in the world and a rapidly improving Wade, who has started to show signs that he has returned to his original All-Star form, they will always have a chance to win every game. Wade scored 27 and 28 points in the past two games, and this is the healthiest his knee has looked in a couple years.
The Heat have had too easy of a road up to this point. Throughout the regular season and even at many times this postseason, they have looked bored and disinterested. They won multiple games against Charlotte and the beginning of the Brooklyn series solely through their talent. After receiving a wake-up call, I expect both Wade and LeBron to have yet another postseason masterpiece and willing the Heat to a Game 2 win. Great players rise up under the most adverse circumstances, and Wade and LeBron have continually shown their abilities to bounce back after defeats. I do not expect anything different this time around, especially against an opponent they absolutely hate.
This marks the third straight year the Heat and Pacers have squared off in the playoffs, and the Pacers have been in a position every year to dethrone the Heat. In 2012, Indiana clobbered Miami by 19 points in Game 3 to put themselves up 2-1 in the series. They dominated the Heat defensively, holding Miami to a paltry 75 points each in Games 2 and 3, as Miami had to play without their best big man Chris Bosh for the remainder of the series. How did the Heat respond? Like legendary champs. LeBron played arguably one of his three best playoff games, with 40 points, 18 rebounds, and 9 assists and D-Wade added 30 points. 70 points from the 1-2 punch. Miami won by 8 points in Game 4 and never looked back, winning Game 5 by 32 points and then Game 6 in Indiana by 12. Simply, Indiana's cockiness woke up the sleeping giant, as Miami scored over 100 points in the final three games of the series.
Last year, Indiana was in a similar position. They outplayed the Heat in the first two games in Miami, splitting the results in two exceptional clashes. The front-line of Indiana, like the previous year, posed severe matchup issues with Miami, as Roy Hibbert, David West, and Paul George obliterated the Heat down low (averaged 68 points per game in first 2 games of series). Heading to Indiana, Miami was on the ropes yet again and once again they delivered with a resounding performance in Game 3, winning by 18 points. Miami went on to win every decisive game in the series in convincing fashion, as they won Game 5 by 11 and Game 7 by 23.
Indiana is not the only team to wilt against Miami in the playoffs. In fact, whenever the Heat have lost Game 1 during the Big 3 Era (since 2010-2011), they have gone on to win every remaining game of that series to win 4-1. That's a 16-2 record following a Game 1 loss in the playoffs (2011 against Chicago, 2012 vs. OKC, 2013 vs Chicago, 2013 vs San Antonio).
Now, past performances do NOT dictate future outcomes. We live in the present, and Indiana still has a favorable position. Miami is another year older, and there's a reason why no one has reached FOUR consecutive NBA Finals since 1984-87 Boston Celtics. The playoffs are grueling and coming back to this same position year-after-year takes a toll after a while. The 2003 and 2011 Lakers could not make it past the second round in their quest for four consecutive Finals appearances, each time having been blown out in the clinching game. The Spurs, arguably the most consistent team this century, have NOT even reached back-to-back Finals appearances in the Tim Duncan era. The Heat have a chance to reach immortality if they make it past this round, but they have shown signs of aging this season.
Furthermore, Indiana plays a brand of basketball that matches up well with Miami. Hibbert and West down low gives Miami fits, as Bosh has a difficult time dealing with Hibbert's strengths and James is not accustomed to guarding post players for most of the game. If Miami puts two bigs against Hibbert and West (combination of Bosh, Haslem, and Andersen), it compromises their strengths on the offensive end. LeBron labored through most of yesterday's game and by his standards, had a very subpar game on the defensive end. Spoelstra must make some key personnel decisions heading into the next game and the rest of the series (starting Battier, playing Haslem more minutes, playing Andersen more minutes while limiting Bosh's minutes).
They Pacers played all regular season long to get home-court advantage against the Heat. They finally have it and have beaten Miami five straight times on their home court, dating back to last year's postseason. Indiana always ups their level of energy and plays their best basketball against Miami, who has knocked them out in each of the past two years. They feel their time is coming and battled through some difficult stages just to get to this point.
However, the Heat play their best basketball when they are under the most pressure. Look no further than the 2nd round against Brooklyn. In Game 4, following an offensive explosion by the Nets, LeBron scored FORTY-NINE points as the Heat withstood a valiant Brooklyn effort and beat the Nets by six points. That was the first glimpse of adversity the Heat went through this postseason, after they swept Charlotte in five games. As they well know, no road to the championship is easy and there will be bumps and bruises along the way. Now, they face a series deficit for the first time since last year's NBA Finals.
As long as they have the best player in the world and a rapidly improving Wade, who has started to show signs that he has returned to his original All-Star form, they will always have a chance to win every game. Wade scored 27 and 28 points in the past two games, and this is the healthiest his knee has looked in a couple years.
The Heat have had too easy of a road up to this point. Throughout the regular season and even at many times this postseason, they have looked bored and disinterested. They won multiple games against Charlotte and the beginning of the Brooklyn series solely through their talent. After receiving a wake-up call, I expect both Wade and LeBron to have yet another postseason masterpiece and willing the Heat to a Game 2 win. Great players rise up under the most adverse circumstances, and Wade and LeBron have continually shown their abilities to bounce back after defeats. I do not expect anything different this time around, especially against an opponent they absolutely hate.
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