Before the series between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers began, there was some notable trash-talking on the Pacers side from both the players and coach Frank Vogel – for which the coach promptly was fined $15,000 – calling the Heat floppers and actors of sorts.
That’s all well and good, but Pacers forward Danny Granger has taken things to another level on the court. He has constantly gotten in the face of LeBron James often looking ready to brawl – as if the Pacers organization needs any more of that – and has picked up a technical foul in each of the last three games.
“Whatever he’s trying, it is not working,” James said. “He’s said he’s not scared of LeBron, I want to let (James) know. I guess he’s doing it for his own psyche. It’s stupid.”
It’s certainly unnecessary. Didn’t Granger learn anything about waking up sleeping giants earlier in the season, when he called a set of back-to-back games against the Knicks “winnable games,” only to be soundly defeated in both? Instigated or not, James and Wade are now wide awake, as evidenced by their performances in Game 4.
Shaquille O’Neal may have said it best Monday night on TNT in regards to the role of the Pacers who will face the Heat in Game 5 on Tuesday: “They need to stay in their lane, and they’ll be fine.”
James accomplished a statistical line in Game 4 that no one has achieved in a playoff game in the last 51 years – not since Lakers great Elgin Baylor did it – and it read like this: 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists.
Miami may need performances of similar caliber from the three-time MVP to get through the second round as it continues to miss the presence of Chris Bosh, who remains out due to an abdominal strain.
Wade finally joined the party with 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists. It was by far his best game of the postseason, but the Heat will continue to need adequate performances from their bench in order to have success in this series.
From Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald: “Shane Battier, the Heat’s new starting power forward, is giving up 30 to 35 pounds to the man he’s guarding, David West. The Heat’s starting center, Ronny Turiaf, is four inches shorter than Indiana’s 7-2 Roy Hibbert, and the Heat’s backup center, 6-9 Joel Anthony, is five inches shorter. Then there’s Udonis Haslem, who was draining clutch jumpers Sunday while playing with nine stitches and an irritating bandage hanging above a bloody cut over his right eye. Such is the demanding and difficult predicament that most of the Heat’s power forwards and centers have faced in this playoff series in the absence of Chris Bosh. And it’s a plight that will continue indefinitely, with Bosh continuing to do rehab on his abdominal strain. “He’s not even near any court work right now,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, then adding it’s “too early to tell” whether Bosh could be back Saturday, when the Heat would potentially play a Game 7 in this Indiana series (which is tied 2-2) or a Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals. Tuesday’s critical Game 5 at AmericanAirlines Arena will hinge, in good measure, on whether LeBron James and Dwyane Wade can approach their extraordinary efforts of Game 4. But the outcome also will rest, in part, on the work of the Heat’s patchwork crew of power rotation players — a group that left an imprint on Sunday’s critical win.
The Pacers have shown that they are capable of winning at AmericanAirlines Arena, but their ultimate key to success will depend on David West and Roy Hibbert who failed to stay on the court in Game 4.
From Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star: “The Pacers have to win at least one game at AmericanAirlines Arena if they are to upset the Heat in their Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series. The Pacers are confident they can win here; they did it in Game 2. “The first four games of this series have proven that home-court advantage means nothing,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “They split (in Indianapolis), we split there. We know we can win in their building, and we can win in any building in the NBA. We have that confidence.” The series is tied 2-2. The most obvious way for the Pacers to win tonight is by stopping Miami’s superb duo of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. They scored 70 of their team’s 101 points in Game 4… West and Roy Hibbert give the Pacers their biggest advantage against the Heat. But they have to stay on the court. It doesn’t do the Pacers any good if both players are on the bench, which was the case because of foul trouble in Game 4. West and Hibbert are the Pacers’ only low-post threats on offense and they’re the team’s best defenders and rebounders. The two combined for 18 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks Sunday. Those numbers have to double if the Pacers expect to have a chance.”
James Park is a regular contributor to Sheridanhoops.com. You can find him on twitter @nbatupark.