WITNESS THIS!
-VS-
Game Time Start: 7:00 PM EST
Where: AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, FL
Officials: J. Crawford, B. Adams, E. Malloy, D. Jones
Media Notes: Indiana Notes, Miami Notes
Television:
Local Radio: WIBC 93.1 FM
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Pacers None to report Heat Chris Bosh - Lower Abdominal Strain (out indefinitely) |
Jared Wade: What Bosh Not Playing Means and Indiana Playing Small Ball Eric Spoelstra is being coy about his starting lineup for Game 2. Chris Bosh is (almost) certainly out. Many presume that means Miami will move LeBron James to now-vacant power forward slot while putting Shane Battier at the other forward. Tom Haberstroh of ESPN’s Heat Index said the Spo “smiled” earlier today when reporters asked if LeBron would start at the 4, saying only that “all options are on the table.” Going small after Bosh went down is not what Spoelstra did Game 1. He instead opened the second half with a more traditional front court of James, Udonis Haslem and Ronny Turiaf. Still undersized no doubt, but there were two prototypical big men on the court. That didn’t last long, however. LeBron and Battier played the entire fourth quarter at the 4 and 3 spots, respectively, as the Heat dominated the Pacers for 12 straight minutes on their way to the victory. In one 3-minute stretch early in the period, those two — along with Joel Anthony in the front court and Dwayne Wade and Mike Miller at the guard spots — went on a 10-2 run from which the Pacers would never recover. As that shows, whether or not LeBron starts at power forward in Game 2 is more semantics than anything. Regardless who steps on the court at tip-off, Indiana is certain to see plenty of him at the position throughout the series, particularly if Bosh, as some presume, will not play again. In some very obvious ways, this benefits Indiana. Unstoppable Size The Heat have nobody on their roster who can guard the 7’2″ Roy Hibbert. Without the 6’11″ Bosh — Miami’s tallest rotation player — Hibbert will have an even more glaring size advantage. Bosh isn’t exactly Kevin Garnett defensively, and Roy had his was with him in early in Game 1, but Spoelstra can’t be excited about having to take his chances with any of Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem or Ronny Turiaf guarding Hibbert one-on-one when there isn’t even another traditional big man on the floor to clog up the paint. For what it’s worth, even battling foul trouble that eventually led to him fouling out, Hibbert went 2-for-3 with two free-throw attempts and 2 offensive boards in 9 fourth-quarter minutes on Sunday, even as the Pacers went away from the post-up game by launching...CONTINUE READING AT 8p9s |
5-on-5 preview: Pacers-Heat, Game 2 In another postseason installment of the Heat Index's 5-on-5 series, our writers give their takes on the storylines before the Heat host the Pacers in Game 2 Tuesday night. 1. Fact or Fiction: Roy Hibbert will get 20-and-10 in Game 2. Tim Donahue, 8 points, 9 seconds: Fiction. It's possible, but unlikely. There are too many things that mitigate against Hibbert getting much more than 30 minutes - fouls, match ups, conditioning. In addition, Hibbert is too easy to take away, if he becomes the main focus of the offense. The 17 & 11 he put up Sunday feels awfully close to his peak to me. Tom Haberstroh: Fact. Expecting big things from him in Game 2. I see Frank Vogel getting back to his roots, and studying the tape to find a better way to get him the ball in the post with Chris Bosh ailing. Secondly, the Heat know that locking down the perimeter and creating havoc in the passing lanes will lead them to fastbreak opportunities. They'll "let" Hibbert get his. Jared Wade, 8 points, 9 seconds: Fiction. He only dropped a 20/10 four times this regular season and couldn't manage to do so against the center-less Magic in the first round. Doubt he starts now against one of the league's premier defensive teams. Michael Wallace: Fiction. I believe Hibbert will get the rebounding numbers. But he doesn't have to quite score 20 for the Pacers to be effective. In order for Indiana to fully exploit its size/strength advantage, Hibbert's production must be complemented by David West. Brian Windhorst: Fact. He only got 27 minutes and 12 shots in Game 1 because of foul trouble. He also had to play a half against Bosh. And he still had 17 points and 11 rebounds. No excuse not to improve on that. 2. Fact or Fiction: Danny Granger needs to step up more than Hibbert. Donahue: Fact. Miami proved that they can live with the Pacer bigs having their way, provided Indiana gets little or nothing from the perimeter. The Pacers have little or no chance of winning a game - let alone the series - if Granger doesn't play better at both ends. Haberstroh: Fact. This is their leading scorer and he was invisible offensively. The Heat don't respect Granger quite on the same level as Carmelo Anthony, but he's clearly much less capable against James. If they have any hope of stealing a game in Miami, Granger needs to hit his shots. Otherwise, where else are those points going to come from? Wade: Fact. The Pacers spread the scoring around pretty evenly but Granger usually finishes near 20 points when they're playing at their best. This means he gets a few open threes, a few transition points and a few points he creates by getting to the rim or pulling up in the mid-range. He needs to find a way to score or Indiana is toast. Wallace: Fact. Granger claimed that Vogel apologized after the Game 1 loss for not getting him more involved offensively. Granger also has to be much better than 1 for 10 from the field. Bottom line is Granger must make James work much harder defensively at a time when he'll be carrying an even bigger load to make up for Bosh's absence. Windhorst: Fiction. The Pacers hopes are on Hibbert, he has to be a force. He has to compel the Heat to alter their defense and get out of their preferred style. Granger of course has to play better, he can't be going 1-of-10. But after watching Granger play against James about 25 times over the years, I do not expect greatness. 3. Fact or Fiction: You expect the foul disparity to even out in Game 2. Donahue: Fact. No good way to answer this, but 9 is a big gap, so it will likely go down. Miami (read: James and Wade) attacks the rim much more, and that will create more fouls. Unless Granger and Paul George become much more active, the Pacers will remain...CONTINUE READING AT HEAT INDEX |
Brett Koremenos: Heat vs. Pacers - Game 2 Adjustments Slow down, post up Indiana’s inability to punish the Heat inside in Game 1 wasn’t so much about posts being fronted and not getting the ball inside, but not allowing things to develop enough to see if the read was even available. Tonight, the Pacers’ biggest adjustment must simply be to have more patience. Too many times, Indiana’s ball handlers rushed their actions and forced themselves into bad spots. On the fronting issue in particular, the player making the entry pass needs to slow down, use pass or shot fakes to make the defense commit to either helping on the big or staying on the shooter, and then make the corresponding read. Once the Pacers show some poise, then the tactical adjustments can be made. The first being that head coach Frank Vogel needs to eliminate any post ups on the block for players not named Roy Hibbert. David West is much better facing the basket and none of the Pacer wings have shown enough post dominance to warrant touches other than in extreme situations (like Granger with one foot in the paint and Mario Chalmers switched onto him). Vogel also needs to switch how he is getting Hibbert his post looks. Miami’s fronting scheme is most effective in two situations: when the Pacers run a cross screen into a post up or when they simply look for him in transition. In both of these situations, weakside helpers can easily position...CONTINUE READING AT HOOPSPEAK |
Philip Rossman-Reich: What will it take for Pacers to pull off improbable upset? Frank Vogel will kill me already for calling this an upset despite his Indiana Pacers being down 1-0 in their playoff series with the Miami Heat. Undoubtedly, though to many NBA observers, a Pacers victory in their second-round matchup with the Heat would be nothing less than an upset of monumental proportions. Miami after all is the world beaters with the supposed cake-walk to the NBA Finals thanks to Derrick Rose's injury and Chicago's subsequent elimination. The Celtics, even, are the real opponent awaiting the Heat, not the third-seeded Pacers. Face Indiana at your own risk though. This is a team that is feeling extremely confident after a virtual sweep of Orlando in the first round, closing out the five-game series with four straight wins. What the Pacers lack in experience (and maybe some poise), they make up for in athleticism and versatility. The Pacers were a matchup nightmare for the undersized Magic and had plenty of time to experiment. While the Heat had several blowout victories against the Pacers during the season, the Playoffs ARE a different animal as both teams will likely learn in this series. Frank Vogel is one of the best rising coaches in the league and he is already learning the battle of words and posturing that comes with being this deep in the Playoffs. This is a team that has strengths where the Heat have weaknesses -- point guard, center and bench depth. So maybe the Pacers...CONTINUE READING AT CROSSOVER CHRONICLES |
Pacers Mike Wells @MikeWellsNBA Jared Wade @8pts9secs Tim Donahue @TimDonahue8p9s Tom Lewis @indycornrows Ian Levy @HickoryHigh |
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