The Indiana Pacers have what they wanted. They get the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals with home court advantage.
Indiana might not be the same team they were at the beginning of the season, but the pieces are there for the Pacers to eliminate the Heat.
For Indiana against Miami, it always starts with Roy Hibbert. While Paul George is easily the best player on the Pacers roster, Hibbert has always been the most important factor against the Heat.
He’s thrived against Miami, even after playing mediocre against lesser opponents.
Hibbert is built to give the Heat trouble and so is the rest of Indiana’s roster. David West, Hibbert’s frontcourt mate and a bruiser in the paint, also presents a major problem for Miami’s small-play style.
The Heat like to have LeBron James at power forward, but Miami coach Erik Spoelstra doesn’t want his two-time Finals MVP getting fatigued going blow for blow with West in the paint on defence.
Miami can counter with big lineups of their own, but that plays into the Pacers’ hands as the Heat lose some of their versatility and ability to space Indiana on defence with shooters on the perimeter.
While the Pacers are constructed for Miami, their execution is going to decide the series, not on-paper line-ups. Indiana struggle to move the ball on offence and often resort to isolation plays.
The Heat are one of the best rotating defences in the league and make up for their lack of size with speed on that end of the floor. If the Pacers don’t take advantage of small openings in Miami’s defence when they’re available, Indiana will have a tough time scoring.
The other area where the Pacers need to focus is holding on to the ball. Miami remain the most dangerous team in the league in scoring off turnovers and free points in the playoffs are especially deadly for the Pacers who prefer to grind out games.
As for the aforementioned home court advantage, the Pacers had the best home record this season with a 35-6 mark at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
VERDICT: Indiana don’t have any more excuses. They have it all set up the way they wanted. But while mismatches and home court are important, experience and having the best player in the game are better. Miami won’t even see Game 7 on the road, winning the series in six.
