The Heat are headed to the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night, while the Pacers are left to ponder what could have been.
The Heat were led as always by Lebron James with 32 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Dwyane Wade showed up big in Game 7 as well with 21 points and 9 rebounds by attacking the rim early. Chris Bosh was very aggressive and had 9 points and 8 rebounds.. Ray Allen chipped in with 10 points and 2 three-pointers in the late 1st quarter to help get the Heat rolling.
The Pacers had 21 turnovers, including 15 in the first half when the Heat built their lead. They also had no answer for the Heat in transition or on the glass which is typically their strong suit. The Pacers fought valiantly until the end, but just did not have enough firepower to match the Heat.
They were led by Roy Hibbert with 18 points and 8 rebounds as the Heat really had no answer for him all series. Paul George, the NBA's most improved player, had a huge postseason as well. On this night, he struggled mightily, fouling out with 7:43 left in the fourth quarter with only 7 points and 7 rebounds after being hounded by Lebron James all night. Lance Stephenson started off hot and added 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.
The game was close until the end of the second quarter when the Heat went on a big run to be up at the half 52-37. The Pacers brought the lead down to 7, but the Heat rallied. When Lebron left the game with 5 minutes left, the Heat were up by 28.
It was an extremely competitive series that introduced the world to the Indiana Pacers and their many talented young stars. The problem for the Pacers was their bench depth. Outside of Tyler Hansborough, they did not have one reliable guy off of the bench that they could count on. That is where they severely missed Danny Granger, an All-Star who played in only 5 games this year before undergoing a second surgery on his left knee. Hopefully he will come back fully healthy next year and give Indiana three dominant wings with George and Stephenson as well.
The Heat showed a weakness on the glass that had plagued them all season, which the Spurs can take advantage of. They also have to figure out a solid rotation for the series. Shane Battier has been a key player for the Heat the last two seasons. He is a great defender on positions 1-4 and is a good three-point shooter that has been ice cold from the field this postseason. He allows them to play their patented small-ball lineup and started 20 games this year. Despite all of this, he was the only player on either team to not get on the court when the teams emptied their benches. He is a consummate pro, so it's not a discipline problem. Is he hurt? Whatever it is, they need him to be able to lock down Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, or Manu Ginobili in the Finals and make some threes to keep the defense honest.
The Pacers have a bright future, but are not guaranteed to get back to this point again. The Heat will look to become back to back champions on Thursday. Tune in to watch history happen and a champ be crowned.
No comments:
Post a Comment