Category: Indiana Pacers Blog

Heat vs Pacers Game 7 is Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET

As the final horn in a Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers was sounding, LeBron James walked toward several of his Miami Heat teammates to shake some hands and share a couple of quick words.

His message was clear: Get ready for Game 7.

Here comes the ultimate game. To the winner, a trip to the NBA Finals. To the loser, an offseason loaded with regret. It’s that simple now for the champion Heat and the confident Pacers, who meet in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals Monday night in Miami—a perk the Heat earned by finishing with the league’s best record this season.

“Each and every year there are 30 teams that would love to be a part of this, to have one game to advance to the NBA Finals,” James said. “And there’s two teams that’s in this position. And it’s something that you can’t substitute, this feeling. You can’t substitute the atmosphere that we’re going to be in on Monday night for both teams. We should all cherish this moment.”

When it’s over Monday, only one club will be cherishing the outcome.

For the Heat, it’s a chance to move into the finals for the third straight year and keep hope alive of winning a second straight title. For the Pacers, it’s a chance to cap what would surely go into the books as one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history, considering that they finished 16 1/2 games behind the Heat in the regular season.

None of that matters much now. The Pacers have beaten Miami five of nine times this season. They need a sixth, or else it was all for naught.

“It is a closeout game and an elimination game,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “Our approach right now is not if we lose we’re out—our approach is if we win, we get to the finals. And that’s what we’re going for. We’re going to give our best shot and try to win the Eastern Conference championship.”

Monday’s winner will open the NBA Finals on Thursday against San Antonio.

Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

On the court, though, Hibbert has had nothing to apologize for, dominating play inside while the Heat are struggling in countless ways.

Dwyane Wade’s sore right knee – which has been an issue for about three months now – is not getting better anytime soon, and he’s stopped even wanting to discuss how it’s affecting his game. Chris Bosh said he needed to get back in the gym Sunday and regain some lost rhythm. Wade is averaging 12 points on 32 percent shooting in his last three games, Bosh just 6.3 points on 24 percent shooting in that same span.

”Just got to come out and play to win,” Wade said. ”It’s one game for both teams.”

Said James, when asked about the other two parts of Miami’s Big Three: ”I mean, we can state the obvious. They’re both struggling.”

They’re hardly the only Heat players who picked the wrong time of year to go into a slide. Ray Allen is shooting 13 for 46 in this series, Shane Battier is at 2 for 16, and they’re a combined 9 for 39 from 3-point range against the Pacers.

Reported by the Associated Press

The Heat did not hold a formal practice on Sunday, but Bosh, who has scored just 19 point in his past three games, arrived early to AmericanAirlines Arena to study film and dissect any area of his game that might help him improve his rhythm, which is conceded on Saturday “just seems off.”

“It’s been like that the whole series,” Bosh said Saturday night. “And now I have to go find it. I’ve got 48 hours to do that.”

Bosh is shooting 23.8 percent (5 of 21) since Game 4. His counterpart, Pacers center Roy Hibbert, is shooting 72.5 percent in his past three games while averaging 23 points per game. Hibbert scored 11.9 points per game during the 2012-13 regular season.

“I have to get back in the gym and work on my game,” Bosh said. “That’s about the only thing that will help me now.”

Bosh has scored in single digits in each of his past three games (seven, seven, five). It’s something that hasn’t happened since his rookie season. On Sunday, Spoelstra took the blame for Bosh’s lack of offense.

“That’s on me,” Spoelstra said. “I’ve got to get him in spots where he can be comfortable and feel comfortable. One of the greatest strengths about all of us is we own it. The players and staff alike have been through situations where we’ve failed.

Reported by the Miami Herald

The Heat ought to be peaking as it weaves its way through the playoffs toward a third consecutive appointment in the climactic NBA Finals.

Instead, Miami is regressing.

The Heat looked like a team adrift for large portions of a 91-77 Game 6 loss Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Now the Heat faces the migraine of Game 7 in Miami on Monday as the San Antonio Spurs drum their fingers impatiently. Or, maybe they are licking their lips.

LeBron James was whistled for charging into Roy Hibbert in the closing minutes. He sprinted away from the official, spitting mad, looking like he would rip off his headband and tear it apart. Then he and assistant coach David Fizdale were assessed technical fouls for protesting too much. The sequence captured the harried state of a team under unaccustomed duress.

Miami will be favored to close it out back home by the bay. Still, the buts continue to outnumber the baskets.

Worrisome signs are not going away.

Foremost among them, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have turned into the Other Two in this series. They shot a combined 1 for 10 in the first half, were not factors when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter and finished with a total of 15 points, six rebounds, five turnovers and one assist.

Reported by Linda Robertson of the Miami Herald

Indiana Pacers players say they have to protect themselves, especially their knees, when Miami Heat forward Shane Battier is in the game during the Eastern Conference finals.

Ahead of Thursday’s pivotal Game 5 with the series tied 2-2, Pacers big men David West and Roy Hibbert said part of the Pacers’ preparation for the Heat is to watch out for Battier attempting to take shots at their knees.

“I (learned) to always have my guard up and protect my knees,” West said. “(Battier) has got this funny way of moving into your knees. We’re very conscious of that. We talk about making sure we protect our knees.”

Earlier in the series, Hibbert accused Battier of a dirty play when Battier kneed him in the midsection on a drive to the basket. Hibbert said he is wary of Battier when he’s on the floor and again called Battier a “dirty player.”

Reported by Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com

Miami’s LeBron James was among three players who were each fined $5,000 by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Thursday for violating the league’s anti-flopping policy during the Eastern Conference finals.

James, the NBA’s reigning most valuable player, was fined along with David West and Lance Stephenson of the Indiana Pacers for exaggerating contact during Tuesday’s Game Four of the best-of-seven series, which is tied at two games apiece.

With the intense series set to resume on Thursday in Miami, the league decided to crack down on the theatrics displayed in Game Four, where the players involved tried to trick referees into calling fouls off limited contact.

James and West were cited for flopping on the same play during Indiana’s 99-92 home victory.

Reported by Reuters

The Pacers’ 99-92 victory Tuesday was filled with such plays and marked by a combined 55 personal fouls. One of those fouls, committed by West against Dwyane Wade with 5:57 left in the fourth quarter of Game 4, was upgraded by the NBA to a flagrant-1.

Steve Kerr, working the game as an analyst for TNT, said flopping has ”been apparent throughout the series but I think it got worse” during Game 4. The league made the announcements of the flopping calls and flagrant upgrade a few hours before Game 5.

James was voted to the NBA’s All-Defensive first team, but Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau accused him of flopping after a play during the Heat’s second-round series victory over the Bulls. The play with West came not long after James said flopping was ”not even a bad thing, you’re just trying to get the advantage.”

Reported by the Associated Press