Game 2 Preview: Indiana Pacers (0-1) at Miami Heat (1-0)

Jae Bradley — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:49:22 +0000

1. How can the Miami Heat improve in Game 2?

I think on some level, the Miami Heat didn’t take the Indiana Pacers as seriously as they should have in Game 1. For example, when Paul George hit a deep three to tie the game as time expired, LeBron had the chance to close Paul George out, and simply didn’t. It was almost as if LeBron couldn’t (or didn’t want to) believe that Paul George could possibly hit the game-tying shot.

If LeBron had closed out, would he have blocked the shot? No.

Could he have possibly altered the shot? Yes.

When your best player doesn’t close out on a game-tying shot does that say something about your team’s mentality? Yes.

Hopefully, Game 1 was a wake-up call for the Miami Heat that the Indiana Pacers are a legitimate threat to the Heat’s title aspirations and that they need to do everything possible (even the little things, like, I don’t know, closing out the best player on the opposing team as they are taking the game-tying shot) to ensure victory.

This is not to say the Heat weren’t intense (just look at their reaction at the end of the game) but that there is a subtle difference between being intense and doing everything you can to win — and the Miami Heat need to do everything they can to win.

2. Should Roy Hibbert have been benched in Game 1?

It is so so so easy to Monday Morning quarterback. For example, if LeBron had taken a jumper instead of a layup, people wouldn’t be as uproariously anti-Frank Vogel as they are right now.

I defend Frank Vogel’s decision, partly because Roy Hibbert is less mobile than White Goodman at the end of Dodgeball. Miami had Norris Cole, Ray Allen, Shane Battier, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh on the last play. What ended up happening (I break down the play, literally frame-by-frame) was that Ray Allen’s defender, Sam Young and Chris Bosh’s defender, Tyler Hansbrough (which would have been Hibbert, if he was in) switched — so now Tyler Hansbrough is on Ray Allen and Sam Young is defending Chris Bosh.

Hansbrough guarding Allen is not as bad a matchup as Hibbert guarding Ray Allen (which is the equivalent of a freight train trying to keep up with a Kawazaki motorcycle). The final thing is that even if Hibbert was in the game, Ray Allen was standing in the corner during LeBron’s drive, so Hibbert (who would have been guarding Ray Allen after he and Sam Young switched defenders) would have been in the corner, and not in any position to defend LeBron.

3. What is the most important match up for your team?

This series is going to be about rebounds, because there are going to be a ton of missed shots in this series due to a great Pacers defense and a bad Pacers offense. For example, in Game 1 there was a total of 91 missed shots. That’s a lot of rebounds, and whichever team can rebound the best (i.e. get those crucial offensive rebounds and corral defensive rebounds) is going to have those vital second-chance opportunities that determine whether one wins or loses a game.

This means that the battle in the paint (Bosh vs. Hibbert) is the most important match up for this team. Bosh brings a lot to the table (foremost, his ability to be a legit pick-and-pop threat) but he also needs to be tougher in the paint — Bosh only had two (two!!!) rebounds in Game 1. To put this into perspective, Norris Cole had four rebounds.

4. Who needs to step up the most tonight?

Dwyane Wade

Don’t get me wrong, Wade played a good Game 1 (other than the minor detail that Wade fouled Paul George on a three-pointer in overtime, which 1. Put the Pacers up by one after George drained all of his free throws 2. Meant Wade had fouled out of the game). Wade had 19 points on 9-for-15 shooting, six rebounds, and five assists — all good stats — but he needs to prove he can be a consistent second banana to LeBron James, which Wade has not done throughout the playoffs. Much of it is has to do with his right knee injury, but Wade needs to get off his playoff schneid and perform well every single game for the duration of the playoffs.

5. What are your predictions for tonight’s game?

With the Indiana Pacers reeling from a very tough loss, and the Miami Heat motivated to take a 2-0 lead, the Miami Heat will win Game 2, 84-78.

My bold prediction for tonight is that Ray Allen and Udonis Haslem each score more than 15 points.

Game 1 Preview: The Indiana Pacers At The Miami Heat

Jae Bradley — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:57:22 +0000

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Plain and simple, whichever offense executes the best will win this game and this series.

The Indiana Pacers have a great defense — 2nd in opponent’s points per game, a legitimate elite shot blocker in Roy Hibbert — but a Cleveland Cavaliers/Washington Wizards caliber offense.

The Miami Heat have a much better offense, which led the league in points per 100 possessions during the regular season, but haven’t had the same defensive success in the playoffs. That being said, the starting five for the Miami Heat are the best starting five of any team in the playoffs, though the Indiana Pacers have a starting lineup that deserves serious respect.

There has been chatter from both sides leading up to this game, and it will be interesting to see what impact (if any) the verbal jabs have had on the play. We all know it is going to be a physical game (especially considering the history these two teams had last year) but will it all come out in Game 1? That’ll be entertaining and interesting to see — how fired up will players be?

But getting back to the importance of offense in this series — the Indiana Pacers have trouble scoring, and facing a pretty good defense in the Miami Heat (this Heat defense is not like the Knicks “defense”) they will probably have even more trouble scoring. The Heat on the other hand, have struggled against the Indiana Pacers offensively, cracking 100 points only once during their three meetings in the regular season, and in the first meeting of the season the Heat only scored 77 points. 77 points!!!

While it might take defense to win championships, whoever wins tonight’s game needs to have a better offense considering that these two teams play elite defense — which means that the Miami Heat have the slight advantage in Game 1 (and the series).

All U Can Heat » Game Preview

Game 2 Preview: Indiana Pacers (0-1) at Miami Heat (1-0)

Game 1 Preview: The Indiana Pacers At The Miami Heat