Eastern Conference Finals Preview: (1) Indiana Pacers vs. (2) Miami Heat

Dwyane Wade (left) and LeBron James (right) are looking for a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

By The Numbers:

Indiana:
56-26 (35-6 Home; 21-20 Road)
PPG: 96.7 (24th); PPG Allowed: 92.4 (2nd)
+4.3 Average Scoring Margin (7th)
Off Rating: 101.4 (22nd); Def Rating: 96.8 (1st)
+4.6 Net Efficiency Rating (7th)

Miami:
54-28 (32-9 Home; 22-19 Road)
PPG: 102.2 (12th); PPG Allowed: 97.4 (5th)
+4.8 Average Scoring Margin (T-4th)
Off Rating: 109.0 (2nd); Def Rating: 102.9 (11th)
+6.1 Net Efficiency Rating (4th)

Season Series: Tied 2-2
Indiana 90, Miami 84 (December 10)
Miami 97, Indiana 94 (December 18)
Indiana 84, Miami 83 (March 26)
Miami 98, Indiana 86 (April 11)

East Round 2 Preview: (1) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Washington Wizards

Can Indiana solve their Roy Hibbert problem in time? (Photo: Mark Runyon; Flickr)

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

By the Numbers

Indiana:
56-26 (35-6 Home; 21-20 Road)
PPG: 96.7 (24th); PPG Allowed: 92.4 (2nd)
+4.3 Average Scoring Margin (7th)
Off Rating: 101.4 (22nd); Def Rating: 96.8 (1st)
+4.6 Net Efficiency Rating (7th)

Washington:
44-38 (22-19 Home, 22-19 Road)
PPG: 100.7 (16th); PPG Allowed: 99.4 (9th)
+1.3 Average Scoring Margin (15th)
Off Rating: 103.3 (18th); Def Rating: 102.4 (T-9th)
+0.9 Net Efficiency Rating (15th)

Season Series: Indiana 2-1
Indiana 93, Washington 73 (November 29)
Indiana 93, Washington 66 (January 10)
Washington 91, Indiana 78 (March 28)

Once More, With Feeling

Can Paul George lead Indiana to the Finals?

By Jeremy Conlin

Let’s not even bother with an introduction. You know what the deal is. Game 7. Tonight. For all the tea in China.

The key to Miami’s offense: Force Roy Hibbert to defend in space

Yeah, way easier said than done. I realize that. But Miami has been able to do it at times in the series in a number of different ways, so it’s definitely possible for them to come up with a gameplan that combines some of these elements:

1. The Birdman Fly-In.

You can’t even call it a duck-in (even though, yes, a duck is a bird) because of how far away Chris Anderson will be lining up for these dives to the rim. A “duck-in” usually involves a big man hanging around the edge of the paint waiting for a driver to suck in the defense, then the big man cuts to the front of the rim for a catch and easy finish. With Birdman, he’s lining up almost 15-16 feet from the basket.

Studs and Duds: Bron Bron's World

By Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello

Studs and Duds is a weekly feature on Suite Sports. Who had a good week? Who had a bad week?

Studs

LeBron Doe

The Pacers outplayed, outshot and seemed to outsmart the Miami Heat during a pivotal game five in South Beach.

LeBron Doe.