Yes, but in the regular season, Battier and Ray Allen were hitting outside shots and Wade was playing decent. It's a much different story today.
Indiana needs to upgrade their backcourt this offseason. Hill, Augustin and Stephenson all suck. They're scrubs.
Spurs play a tempo the Heat definitely prefers. Bulls/Pacers play a grind out style that really slow the Heat down. That's why the difference in their games v. Boston of last year then OKC. Heat will play much better offensively v. the Spurs, esp. their role players who depend on 3pt shooting. And Lebron won't have to be facing Butler/George. Instead, he'll face Green and Leonard - good defensive players but don't have the size/strength/skills to match up to James. James will have an epic individual offensive series v. the Spurs.
if the heat make it past the pacers im sure lebron will be relieved to go against kawhi leonard over paul george
Tony Parker will run circles around Chalmers, Cole, Wade and whoever else they try to throw at him and Duncan will man handle Bosh and Chris Andersen.
You have to understand it's a game of matchups and tempo. Boston took the Heat to 7 games last year, but OKC barely lasted 5. OKC is a better team than the Celtics for sure. But the game is about matchups and tempo. The Heat match up way more with the Spurs than the Pacers/Grizz.
Games like this I'd love to have Danny Granger rather than Lance Stevenson. Game Saturday and, yes, game 7 on Monday
Pacers are the best defensive team for a reason and the best defensive team against the 3 for a reason. Spot up 3pt shooters struggled against the Pacers all season long, Battier and Ray Allen struggling is not exactly a fluke just like how the shooters from the Hawks and Knicks struggled against the Pacers as well earlier in the playoffs.
Don't discount Leonard and Danny Green, though. They may not be as good as George on the defensive side, but they're still decent. And I'm pretty sure Miami isn't salivating over the fact that a well rested Spurs team is awaiting them.
The Heat haven't had trouble putting the ball in the basket. Outside of game 4, they have shot near 50% all series. their problem is pushing the tempo. They haven't been able to do that b/c they have been pounded on the boards. When you don't rebound, you get less possessions, and you can't push the tempo. Like tonight, they shot 50%, but only scored 90 points b/c the tempo was so slow. And this isn't just the Pacers. The Heat had the same problems with the Bulls.
i think the rest angle is kind of overrated but that's just me. it's possible the spurs could come out rusty.
Its not just the tempo, the Pacers tend to play the opponent with single coverage with very limited doubles which not only limit the open 3 opportunities but also throws off their rhythm. Also the team is fairly long and athletic and is capable of recovering to the open 3 better than the average team. Battier & Allen's struggle against the Pacer in this series is not exactly a fluke, they struggled mightily against the Pacers in the regular season as well and players like Kyle Korver and JR Smith also struggled against the Pacers in the post season.
San Antonio needs to adjust small to match Miami, rather than Miami matching big, it changes a lot about how the game will be played.
paul george didn't cool off but the pacers offense finally hit a bit of a bump in this series. a sub-90 game for the first time. we'll see if they shoot better at home like they usually seem to do.
