There is no doubt that the Indiana Pacers have to make adjustments in their defense. The Miami Heat are aware of this as they look to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals Friday evening in the American Airlines Arena. With a victory, the Heat can shift the series completely in their favor allowing them to keep home court advantage as they would get ready to head to Indiana for Games 3 and 4.
As of right now, the Heat are 1-0 in the series following their 103-102 miraculous victory over the Pacers in Game 1. ESPN had a poll asking who was more responsible for the victory, LeBron James or Pacers' head coach Frank Vogel and though over 70 percent of the voters thought King James should take the credit, the replays would show that Vogel made poor coaching decisions down the stretch.
The game was tied as James drove by George Hill to the paint. Unlike most of the previous 52 minutes of action, Roy Hibbert wasn't in the paint. He was on the bench. No Hibbert in the paint meant James could drive to the hoop and get the easy bucket. The Pacers took the one-point lead with two seconds left. Vogel once again removed Hibbert from the game and this time, James chose to drive by Paul George for the game winner as he sunk the layup before the buzzer.
The Pacers will put this in their past. They had a chance to lock it up, but they did not. The last time we saw a young team place a veteran squad at their mercy was the Golden State Warriors pounding away at the San Antonio Spurs. They bounced back and won Game 2 convincingly after blowing a lead in Game 1.
The Heat have to be slightly concerned because they didn't play their style of basketball. The Pacers controlled the tempo of Game 1. It was scrappy and had it not gone to overtime, it would have remained in double digits. The one thing the Heat should give themselves a pat on the back for is their hustle. Chris Andersen was a reliable cutter, rushing to the hoop as he finished 7/7 from the floor and 16 points. The Pacers had 17 offensive rebounds and the Heat finished with 16.
The Pacers will need Lance Stephenson to score more than seven points and more importantly, they need him to hit the rim when he shoots. The Pacers gave Udonis Haslem wide open jumpers, but this is not recommendable as Haslem possesses a respectable jumper. However, Indiana got lucky as Haslem looked more like a struggling Serge Ibaka.
Here's where both conference finals series stands and each teams overall records in the 2013 NBA Playoffs.
(9-1) Heat 1-0 Pacers (8-5)
(10-2) Spurs 2-0 Grizzlies (8-5)
