The Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers will slug it out in the Eastern Conference Finals, which is set to take off on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Heat have the better record having finished first in the Eastern Conference Standings, but here's why the defending champions will be taken to the brink as the No. 3 seeded Pacers will give Miami a run for their money.
Expect this one to go seven games as the Heat and Pacers know each other very well. The Heat have a history or carelessness, sluggish starts and lazy brand of basketball early in games and series. It was said that the Chicago Bulls won Game 1 because the Heat had taken them for granted. Who expected the injured Bulls to put up a decent fight? The series against the Bulls was physical and the Heat can expect the same from the Pacers as their series was also physical against the New York Knicks. Physical ball is the Pacers style.
The Heat were somewhat rattled in that series against the Bulls. Things became increasingly violent in the first two games. That's the way you beat LeBron James and the Heat, you play physical ball, force the issue and you do not allow them to bully you around with fastbreaks and easy buckets. The Heat score a ton of points when they are running around freely, but when a team gets in their face, it's harder to fly around and drive to the lane for the easy scores.
Led by David West and Roy Hibbert, the Pacers have the advantage in toughness. However, one thing the Heat didn't have in last year's series was Chris Andersen. The Birdman might be a little lanky and lacking in the muscles department, but this guy is tough and will not be bullied around. West is likely to drive James crazy in the paint whenever he drives and don't be surprised if punches are thrown as these two teams have a history.
It was Danny Granger who bullied James last year in the Conference semis. However, it seemed like pushing James around only ignited the flame in the NBA's best player. James eventually took over games and led his Heat to victory. Though there is no Granger this time around, Paul George is a good enough defender and he won't mind getting into James' head. He did a good job against Carmelo Anthony in the previous series, but he will need to put up an even better effort if he is assigned to James.
The Heat have the better bench, which will lead them to victory. The Pacers are the tougher team as no Heat player has the energy to match toe-to-toe with Tyler Hansbrough's hustle. You give Miami the advantage in scoring and Pacers the advantage in tenacity. The Pacers are also a great team at home as they are still undefeated in the playoffs at Banker's Life Fieldhouse. Steal one in Miami and who knows what will happen?
The bad news for the Pacers is that the Bulls prepped the Heat up in their previous series. So expect the Heat to be cool as they will not let emotions get the best of them. This should be a great series. Look for the defending champs to ride out the storm and pull out the 4-3 series win.
It is important to note that the Pacers won the season series 1-2.