Did the Pacers Just Expose the Heat's Kryptonite?

 

The Miami Heat may have found the challenge they’ve been waiting all season for, the Indiana Pacers.

It seemed inevitable that these two squads would meet up deep in the playoff hunt. However, no one predicted this matchup under these circumstances.

The Indiana Pacers shocked the basketball world after their 107-96 victory over LeBron James and the defending champions Sunday afternoon. The Pacers won the game because of their lockdown defense and rejuvenated offense.

I couldn’t help but ponder while watching game one, “Why the Hell did it take so long for the Pacers to get their ‘mojo’ back?”

The Pacers had only eclipsed the 100-point mark once in 13 games before facing Miami. The Pacers offense has been their Achilles’ heel this entire postseason. It took Indiana seven games to oust the lowly eighth-seeded Hawks and six games to put away the young, upstart Wizards. In short, there was a lot of well-deserved doubt heading into Sunday’s game.

The Pacers squashed all of those preconceived notions by punishing the Heat’s over-aggressive defense with excellent ball movement and a punishing inside game.

Indiana passed their way to 23 assists, which matched their highest total of the entire playoffs. The Pacers also attacked the rim with tenacity and ended the game with a 22-point advantage at the free throw line; the second largest margin in the history of the Pacer’s franchise.

The Pacers were oddly efficient from the 3-point line where they sank eight of 19 from downtown. George Hill and Paul George combined to go six of 13 from the 3-point stripe.

The most apparent weakness in Miami’s game is their ability to deal with team’s that have legitimate post play. Unfortunately for the Heat, it appears that Roy Hibbert has finally got his confidence back.

LeBron James commented on Indiana’s presence inside: “Obviously, it’s a very physical front line,” James said of the Pacers. “It’s going to have to be a collective group. We all have to get down there and help one another out.”  

The real question that looms in our minds is, “Can this be the end for the Miami Heat?” As of now, it appears that the Heat are not invincible and could very well be down 0-2 Tuesday night.

Don’t believe for a second that the Heat are out of this series. Since LeBron joined D-Wade in South Beach, they’ve created a trend of starting off slow and then being able to turn it on at a moment’s notice.

Three years ago, Miami lost game 1 of the conference finals on the road to Chicago and ended up winning the next four to get to the NBA Finals.

Two years ago, the exact same scenario occurred in the 2012 NBA Finals against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

And I shouldn’t need to remind you about what happened last year, when Miami rallied back from a 3-2 series deficit to secure their second consecutive championship against the Spurs.

Based on past history, the Miami Heat enjoy playing the “rope-a-dope” technique perfected by legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. They let their opponents exhaust themselves early in the fight, and then pounce when they can smell blood.

The only question is, are the Miami Heat going to counter-punch or get KO’d?