Originally posted by LA9erFan:
Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:
I agree 100%. I remember when Bulls won the 1st game of 2nd round and I came on the board and I said I'm not even worried about the Bulls. This series...I'm a little worried about the Pacers. I expected Hibbert to be a mismatch, but I never expected him to put up 30 pts in a game. If that becomes a trend, Miami could be in trouble.
Still strongly feel Miami will win the series...because they haven't played near their best and still almost had a 2-0 lead. On the other hand, Pacers have played as well as they could have against Miami. So, Miami should feel confident. Having said that, only 5 games left - and a team can get hot and stay hot.
I'm not so sure this is a matter of Indiana being hot. I feel like they're getting better looks than Miami are. They're going to continue to give Miami difficulty with their size, and will continue to outrebound them. The Pacers are playing superb defense, but that's what they do. I don't see what the fluky elements are. I feel pretty confident that either Hibbert or West (who was off tonight) is gonna continue to give Miami fits.
I also said that Miami would be fine against Chicago after the first game, because the quality of Miami's looks were so much better. That's not the case in this series. In fact, I think Miami's shot pretty well on contested jumpers, and it's unlikely that keeps up. This is an even matchup in every way.
Really? I felt Miami was gettin' much better shots consistently in the 2nd half. Got some really good looks late in the game too...Chalmers and Bosh missed wide open 3s and if Lebron was a little more careful, Ray Allen would have gotten 2 attempts at open 3s. Actually, all 4 jumpers Ray took were wide open and he made only 1. Cole got open looks and he missed them. Outside of the 3 all-stars on Miami, rest of the team played poorly. I hope that won't continue.
Paul George is a damn good player, but he is a 43% shooter. I'd say he is playing out of his mind right now. He got some easy looks but he also got some not so easy looks and he drained them.
I'd put Lebron on West (Lebron played great defense on West in 2nd half when he played him) and let Battier/Wade deal with Paul George for the 1st 3 quarters. Play off of him and let him to shoot Js. Hibbert will be a nightmare for Heat, but he shouldn't get 30. Heat must attack instantly on offense to make Hibbert run back rather than slowing down the game and letting Hibbert slowly jog back on defense. This will not only tire Hibbert out, it will give Miami better shots at the rim or give open looks to Ray or Battier.
So far, I feel Miami is not really using their speed to their advantage. I expect Miami to attack earlier in the shot clock. I disagree with it being an even match-up. I'd give Heat a decent edge, but they can't play sloppy like they did against the Bulls. They have to play solid 48 minutes...which they haven't done since the first round.