The Miami Heat have been thought of as the best team in the NBA all year and after winning 27 games in a row at one point and after taking care of both the Bucks and the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs the team appears ready to head back to the finals for a second straight year.
Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel may disagree with that assessment after saying that the Heat were "just the next team" up in the postseason, but this year's MVP LeBron James isn't having any of that. James responded to Vogel's comments after the Pacers game and spoke about how the Heat are more than "just another team" and that his squad is a "great" team and based on the way the Pacers have played on the road in the playoffs Vogel should be careful not to prod James and company too much, as they can be vicious when playing in the postseason.
James is a great all-around player and while the Pacers are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, the Heat are more experienced and are much better than they were when the two teams faced off in the postseason last season. During the series last year the Pacers appeared to be in control when they went up 2-1 against the Heat, but they dropped the next three games and were eliminated from the playoffs, while Vogel at one point was fined over $10,000 for calling the Heat a flopping team. The Pacers advanced after defeating the Knicks in Game 6 on Saturday and while the team struggled on the road during the playoffs, they took care of business at home and the Knicks never won a game in Indiana all season.
The Heat will have another lengthy break after their series against the Bulls and will start their series against the Pacers on Wednesday night, which will come after the Grizzlies and Spurs have played two games already. During the Heat's 27-game winning streak, Miami defeated Indiana 105-91 and after playing an intense series last season, the matchup is sure to be physical and demanding on both sides. James is playing with more intensity than ever as he tries to win back to back titles and he currently has a better supporting cast than either of his first two years in Miami, with Chris Andersen and Ray Allen providing veteran depth.
The Miami Heat finished the Bulls series with a 94-91 victory on Wednesday that was the team come back from a large deficit after outscoring Chicago 25-14 n the fourth quarter after a strong performance by James, who led the team with 23 points and eight assists. Carlos Boozer had a big game with 26 points and 14 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to force a Game 6.
The Pacers were ranked first in the league in rebounding during the season and second in the league in points allowed per game with just over 90 and playing that style will be how they can disrupt the Heat in the series. The team likely will not win a shootout with the Heat after scoring just 94 points per game during the regular season and ranked 23rd in the league, while the Heat were ranked fifth in scoring and fifth in points allowed. The biggest advantage will be in rebounding, where the Heat rank 30th in the league, but one of the main reasons for that is because the team makes most of its shots and causes a high number of turnovers.
"We're ready for whatever," James said. "I believe it's going to be like last series. They're going to try to put me on the floor, maybe. Be physical with me, maybe. I don't know. Every team kind of does the same thing. They kind of read what everyone else talks about [and say], 'You have to beat up the Heat to beat them.' We'll see what happens."