NBA 2013 Eastern Conference Finals Preview

LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and crew will take on Paul George, Roy Hibbert and the Indiana Pacers
for the NBA Eastern Conference Championship and birth in the NBA Finals.  If Miami advances, it would be their
third consecutive NBA Finals appearence and, if they win, it will be their second straight Finals victory.  Can they
repeat?

It will be up to Roy Hibbert, Paul George, and the rest of the Indiana Pacers to
shut down the Miami Heat and keep them from appearing in
their third straight NBA Finals appearence.

The Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls four games to one, and the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks four games to two in the 2013 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals.  Indiana and Miami will now square off in the Eastern Conference Finals in a seven game series to decide who plays in the NBA Finals.  The Heat are completely stacked, featuring names like NBA MVP LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen.  However, the Indiana Pacers feature one of the toughest defenses in the NBA.  The Pacers rank first in the NBA in rebounds and second in least points allowed in the 2012-13 season.  A good defense is key in stopping Miami, and Indiana certainly has one.  However, the Pacers offense is rather weak.  They rank 23rd in points per game and 28th in assists per game.  Miami can play offense and defense, but they can't seem to rebound, as the Heat rank fifth in points per game, seventh in assists per game, fifth in least points allowed and 30th in rebounds.  Miami needs to focus on crashing the boards and working around the Pacers defense if they want to head to the Finals.  Try to get as much offensive production out of LeBron James as you can from inside the paint and mid range.  If the Pacers D trys to smother LeBron, just get the ball to Dwayne Wade and send that defense into panic mode.  If Miami can utilize all of their weapons, they will be fine.  The Pacers should focus on keeping LeBron covered.  When teams can stop LeBron, they can usually stop the Heat.  That's how Chicago snapped Miami's epic winning streak during the regular season.  They kept LeBron under control, and the whole team fell apart.  Indiana should also try to keep Paul George and Danny Granger on the floor as much as possible because they are their top scorers and they lack offensive skill.

If the Heat want to win, they have to get production from LeBron James in the paint and from mid range. 
If the Pacers want to load LeBron with coverage, that's fine.  Dish it to Dwayne Wade and watch him work.
If the Pacers want to compete, they have to keep LeBron bottled up, because when LeBron wins, Miami wins,
and when LeBron loses, Miami struggles.

Who Wins?

 

Miami Heat in 5

The Heat have too many weapons for even the Pacers to stop.  Even if the Pacers could stop Miami's offense, Indiana's weak offense would be destroyed by the Heat.  I can see the Pacers winning one game if they get lucky or the Heat are off their game one night, but in my opinion, the Rose-less and Deng-less Chicago Bulls were more of a challenge for the Heat.  Miami wins in 5.  Game 1 is tomorrow night at 8:00 on TNT.