Heat cast more doubt on Pacers

The visiting Pacers lost to the Miami Heat 98-86 Friday night. The Pacers are now 54-26 while the Heat are 54-25. The win for the Heat gives them a one half game lead in the race for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Forethoughts
Well, that was a disappointment. The Pacers looked like they were ready to make this a down to the wire type of game in the first half, but the Heat used a big early second half run to take control of this one. Maybe the Pacers starters need more rest. While it wasn't a bad idea by Coach Frank Vogel to not play them against Milwaukee, it still wasn't enough to snap the team out of its late season doldrums. In the early part of the second half, it looked as if the Heat defense knew exactly where the Pacers were going to pass the ball. And when the Heat get turnovers and LeBron James gets going toward the basket, it's a foul or an easy basket for Miami. Had Miami been playing well as of late, maybe this loss wouldn't have been so disturbing. But the Heat had lost three of their last four and were without one of their stars in Dwyane Wade in this one. So. what looked to be a break for the Pacers just confirmed that this team still is at least a little broken. Roy Hibbert (more on him later) and George Hill were virtually non-existent in the offense and that's not good against a team like the Heat. The fact that Hill did not even have a shot attempt is just one symptom of the predictability of the offense, at least against the Heat anyway. It also is a sign of the lack of scoring from inside, which didn't allow Hill to have any open looks. So, barring a miracle win against the Thunder Sunday, it looks like the Pacers will have the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. And if that happens, they won't have achieved one of their stated goals this season of earning the top spot in the event they need to play a seventh game at home against Miami in the Eastern Conference finals. But there still is some doubt if this version of the Pacers can even get to the Eastern Conference finals. And now, you have to wonder, if the Pacers need to win a seventh game on the road against the Heat, do they really believe they can? That's the biggest question of all.
Big Plays
This looked to be a competitive game for the first half, but the Heat went on a 20-2 run to start the second half to build a 65-44 lead and that was it. The Pacers did make a spirited 13-0 run to cut the deficit to nine early in the fourth quarter, but the Heat responded with an 8-0 run of their own.
The Ups
1) I thought the first half, the Pacers played with some confidence and shot the ball well and looked like they had a good plan against the Heat. Yes, the turnovers were an issue, but the Pacers were getting open shots and hitting as they shot 51 percent in the first half.

Paul George finished with 22 points, five rebounds
and five assists in Friday's loss to the Heat.

2) Don't blame Luis Scola for the Pacers recent struggles. After starting and playing well in Milwaukee Wednesday night, he came off the bench and played well again with 12 points and five rebounds. And if the Pacers aren't going to look at all to Hibbert on offense, you have to wonder if they are struggling to score in a playoff game if Vogel will go with Scola and West as his two big men on occasion. It may depend on matchups too, but if Scola continues to play well it's an idea that has to be considered.
The Downs
1) The Pacers need to get something, anything, from Roy Hibbert when they play the Heat. He went without a rebound and without a field goal attempt in the first half of this one, with just a free throw to show. The Heat put the shorter Udonis Haslem on him for much of the night, and it's a matchup where the Pacers should have had a clear advantage but did not. Hibbert's first field goal attempt didn't come until early in the second half and it was a miss. And then Hibbert's one rebound of the game came at the 2:20 mark of the fourth quarter, so at least he didn't get shutout in his 33 minutes of action.
2) The turnovers were an issue here again. The Pacers had 10 in the first half, and some of those were just careless and more than likely cost them the lead. Then they had four more in the third quarter which contributed to the game getting out of hand.
3) OK, three more stats to look at at here: 1) The Heat outscored the Pacers in the paint 44-26, had more second chance points at 16-5 and more fastbreak points at 18-7. The first two numbers are disconcerting because the Pacers have the size advantage up front and the Heat are the worst rebounding team in the league. Just not good signs folks, not good at all.
Next Up
The Pacers return home and play the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday afternoon in a 1 p.m. game. The Thunder are pretty much guaranteed the second best record in the West and in the league behind the Spurs as they are 58-21. The Thunder are led by league MVP candidate (and yes, he would get my vote) Kevin Durant at 32 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists. They also have Russell Westbrook at 21.7 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds, Serge Ibaka at 15.2 points and 8.6 rebounds, Reggie Jackson at 13.3 points and 4.1 assists and Caron Butler at 9.8 points. The Thunder won the first meeting of the season 118-94.