Miami Heat v/s Indiana Pacers - NBA Playoffs 2012: Second Round Preview
In one of the second round series in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, the mighty Miami Heat are all set to take on the Indiana Pacers in about two days time, and even though the men from the South Beach won the regular season 3-1,
will they ready for a versatile Indiana team which has made a habit to cross the 100 digit in every game remains to be seen?
Both of these teams wrapped up their first round series in five games without much trouble.
Heat wrapped things up at home after a 106-94 win over the New York Knicks in Game 5. LeBron James, who had been putting up stunning numbers throughout the series, had another great night leading his team in points - 29, rebounds
– 8 and assists - 7. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh also helped significantly by recording 19 points each and their role will be important in the series against the Pacers.
To everybody`s disappointment, the series did not live up at all to the hype it had back from the 90`s when the Heat and the Knicks used to battle it out. This was mainly due to the fact that the Knicks only had one strong option
in form of Carmelo Anthony and limited his influence was a high priority for the Heat.
Even though it took them an extra game to close the series out, but the Heat displayed great strength as a cohesive unit and brought the level intensity which is required in the playoffs.
On the other hand, after slumping in Game 1 against Orlando Magic, Pacers put that loss behind them and won the next four games in a row. They were no doubt led by Danny Grangers’ exploits on the scoring end, but importantly, this
team did most of their work on the defensive end, Roy Hibbert being the strongest weapon in that aspect.
He, along with David West, has made the Pacers a formidable force on the defensive end and it is not going to be easy to score against them.
Moving into their series against Indiana, there is no doubt that Miami holds the edge, but they seem a little over confident. When asked about the matchup, LeBron was pretty dismissive of the Pacers;
"I don't think they've given us too many problems, personally, we’ve played some great ball against them. I think we've given more problems than they've given us."
Being confident is okay and for superstars like James, it is like fuel, but he should remember that Miami’s previous successes came in the regular season and Pacers will be playing at a whole different level this time around, especially
when they have reached the second round after such a long time.
Many believe that it is going to be an intense physical series with both teams fighting it out hard on the D and eventually will not be a good display of basketball. This opinion is shared by the Miami Coach Eric Spoelstra. However
he did contemplate that the Pacers are going to be a tough task.
"It's a team that's playing at an extreme high confidence level right now," Spoelstra said, "This next series I'm sure will feel like it's played in a cage rather than a basketball court. It will be extremely physical."
Led by the 7 foot 3 inch frame of Hibbert, the Pacers have very good defenders protecting the paint, and against an undersized Miami outfit, they do hold the edge on the glass. The problem however is the intensity. Heat live to
defend their side of the court, they have the ability to outhustle opponents and never hesitate to put their bodies on the line.
With a group of above average players on the offense, Indiana will have to be very precise off the floor to counter Miami. They successfully managed to do that against Magic and to tumble the Heat; Pacers need to do a bit of the
same.
And finally there is the LeBron James factor. In this case, the Pacers just have to hope that LeBron chokes, because if he doesn’t, Miami will win and there is nothing Indiana will be able to do about it.
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