THE SKINNY
The longest winning streak of the season is going to be put to the test today against the Miami Heat. Since the last time these two teams faced off, the Pacers have found themselves slipping in the standings while the Heat have ballooned towards the top. With a new coach, however, the Pacers found themselves full of new energy, and are once again embracing the underdog role.
THE LINEUPS
Point Guard
Collison has gotten his assist/turnover ratio above 2, and will be a key player with the Heat's lack of depth at the point guard position. He needs to take care of the ball, since the Heat are athletic and know how to play the passing lanes. Chalmers is a capable long-range shooter who is basically a spot-up player for the Heat. Wade will play minutes at the 1.
Shooting Guard
Dwyane Wade was stifled in the first matchup against the Pacers, but with Brandon Rush not being a sure thing and Wade fully recovered from injury, Mike Dunleavy, Paul George, and Dahntay Jones need to use their length to bother him. Dunleavy especially needs to get going tonight to put pressure on the Heat defense.
Small Forward
Granger shot horribly last time against the Heat, sinking only 6 out of 21 to finish under 30% for the night. He can't have that sort of performance against the adjusted Heat today. He also has to try and keep Lebron under 25 points. He doesn't need to score a whole bunch, just score efficiently and play smart on both ends of the floor.
Power Forward
Chris Bosh is still recovering from his ankle injury, but can still take on McBob with his savvy post play. Bosh is a very dangerous offensive rebounder, so McRoberts needs to play the boards with sound fundamentals and secure rebounds. He's athletically able to stay with Chris Bosh, but needs to make the right decisions. It would be a great boost if he can supply some combination of threes and dunks tonight.
Center
Roy Hibbert found himself in foul trouble a lot in the last game, and was not a major factor in the win against the Heat. He's the other player of positional advantage the Pacers have and he needs to anchor the defense while understanding how Miami's big 3 likes to get inside and pin fouls on opponents. He also has to be wary of Ilgauskas' ability to sink the outside jumper.
THE BENCH
Tyler Hansbrough will have to buckle down at the PF position if McBob can't contain Bosh. Miami's bench isn't deep, but boasts a very good 6th man in Mike Miller, and former Pacers 3-point specialist James Jones. Paul George and AJ Price have good opportunities to establish an advantage off the bench for the Pacers in the absence of the hero of last meeting, Brandon Rush.
THE COACHES
The interim head coach Frank Vogel is going up against the formerly-youngest coach, Erik Spoelstra. Both teams will be entering the game with different lineups than in their first meeting, which means that winning the last one guarantees no advantage for the Pacers. In fact, the Heat may be looking for some revenge.
THE INJURY REPORT
Pacers
Brandon Rush - Ankle: Maybe.
Heat
Udonis Haslem - Foot: Out.
THE HEAVY MATTERS
-Play physically. The best ways to beat a team that lacks depth is to get them in foul trouble and muscle them the whole game. Tough defense and tough rebounding are key.
-Collison and Hibbert need to deliver good games to put the pressure on the weaker links on the Heat.
THE TRADITION
Coach got us focused. Love the tempo.
Nobody was between Joel Anthony and the basket, but he didn't know.