The Miami Heat breezed past the New York Knicks last night in another double digit win. With “Linsanity,” the fire extinguisher, and the circus that is New York behind them, the focus now is on the balanced and well-armed Indiana Pacers. The Indiana Pacers lack the true star power of a hoop hero like Miami Heat SF LeBron James, or SG Dwyane Wade, but have a team comprised of depth and chemistry.
The Heat are a significantly more talented team. Both teams can drop the three any given night, but the real match-ups begin on the wings and into the paint. Coach Erik Spoelstra’s strategy against New York Knick SF Carmelo Anthony was terrific save for his game 4 outburst. The top scorer for the Indiana Pacers is also a wing-style small forward in Danny Granger. Granger will match against LeBron James, who should do more than enough to slow or even halt the scoring prowess of Granger. The anathema of last season for the Miami Heat was C Tyson Chandler, who is comparative in influence with Pacers C Roy Hibbert. Hibbert is around the same size, but is a more complete player offensively. Due to the dearth of quality centers in the league, the Heat will have to send undersized and less talented centers against Hibbert in committee. However, Hibbert still does not necessarily have what it takes to dominate a game like C Dwight Howard can. Hibbert would be best off taking what the defense gives to him and putting the opposing bigs in early foul trouble. Miami may not have any true seven footers, but they have a horde of blue collar types like PF Udonis Haslem that exemplify the ideal that hustle and effort make up for a few inches in height.
The Miami Heat have had trouble dealing with top flight scoring point guards, but thus far PG Darren Collison does not seem like the type of threat that could topple Miami. Combining a steady back court rotation of Paul George and George Hill could spell trouble, but the Heat should have enough depth on the defensive side to squelch any sort of long term in game damage.
The Chicago Bulls are in deep trouble as of right now, and the Boston Celtics may wind up in a war of attrition with Philadelphia. All signs are pointing towards another Heat series win in five, and a straight shot to the finals.
Tags: Danny Granger, dwyane wade, Erik Spoelstra, Roy Hibbert, Udonis Haslem