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Hey fellas, just lending an opinion from a outsiders perspective. The Miami Heat dont have the size up front to match Indiana, but it doesn't matter, the Heat are bullying the Pacers around and they've really been the bullies all series. In my opinion, the difference in this series is the toughness, Indiana is NOT a tough team. Hansborough provides toughness, Jones and Collison also, but that's it.
When Miami gets angry and focused, they attack and the pacers have nobody to attack and match intensity.

Granger is not a playing like a elite superstar in this series, the instances where he stands up to Lebron and Wade look good, but he needs to apply that toughness in the games but out hustling the Heat players for loose balls, by fighting and getting as many rebounds as he can and by playing tough man to man defense, all these things I dont see from him.

Paul George is just plain soft, and besides hitting occasional jumpers and occasionally getting a steal, I dont see what he brings to the table. Hibbert should be averaging 25 points per game vs an undersized Heat team. West should be the go to guy inside screaming and demanding the ball, and he should be doing a much better job on the boards. George Hill needs to be benched for Collison.
This is a tough team that is one superstar away from being a real contender, good luck the rest of the series.

Hibbert will average 20-25 a game once he get's a solid PG to give him the ball in the proper spots. I still can't believe they stole him from the Raptors like that.

You're kind of off base.

Danny is playing poorly, but he's against the best player in the universe by a wide, wide margin. His task is as near to impossible as it gets. Not giving him a pass but you can only ask so much.

Not enough evidence to really call PG soft yet.

LOL at benching Hill for Collison. We did the exact opposite and for good reason.

PG got votes for the all defensive team. he is still very young and can get lost on the court particularly on offense but there is almost no one his age we'd consider trading him for. we're expecting great things once he learns to be more assertive. if Granger is out Thursday, there will be a ton of pressure on Paul to step up.

Bird made a motivational statement to his players, not a statement of fact.

The Pacers' problem isn't toughness, it's talent. They don't quite have enough of it on this year's roster.

What we have is a great supporting cast for a championship team, if only a truly elite player could be lured to Indiana this summer through free agency...I hope Deron Williams is smart enough to recognize his opportunity.

mizzoupacers wrote:Bird made a motivational statement to his players, not a statement of fact.

The Pacers' problem isn't toughness, it's talent. They don't quite have enough of it on this year's roster.

What we have is a great supporting cast for a championship team, if only a truly elite player could be lured to Indiana this summer through free agency...I hope Deron Williams is smart enough to recognize his opportunity.

That would be an almost perfect fit.

I appreciate you guys respecting my opinion and not taking offense and assuming I'm trolling. I think this is a very solid team with alot of depth. Now, to respond to some of the responses I got

Starkiller wrote:You're kind of off base.

Danny is playing poorly, but he's against the best player in the universe by a wide, wide margin. His task is as near to impossible as it gets. Not giving him a pass but you can only ask so much.

Not enough evidence to really call PG soft yet.

LOL at benching Hill for Collison. We did the exact opposite and for good reason.

Your right, Lebron is a beast, I just think Granger should bring a little bit more to the table with this being the playoffs, I dont know the numbers, but he should be averaging around 20 ppg because this is the time stars shine. As for Hill and Collison, I havent seen much of them during the regular series, but in this series, Collison is displaying more fight and heart than Hill by far.

Wizop wrote:PG got votes for the all defensive team. he is still very young and can get lost on the court particularly on offense but there is almost no one his age we'd consider trading him for. we're expecting great things once he learns to be more assertive. if Granger is out Thursday, there will be a ton of pressure on Paul to step up.

He has great size and athleticism, their are times he seems to lock his man down and cause disruptions on the defensive end, but he's really one of the softer players you guys have. He needs to get a nastiness about him, more aggression and of course some offensive abilities to really leave his mark in the league.Dwayne Wade is a great player, but he is absolutley bullying George, out rebounding him, out hustling him, going wherever he wants on the court, he's just abusing this kid. D. Jones has shown alot more fight than George imo and I think he should get at least 5 more minutes of PT in this series.

mizzoupacers wrote:Bird made a motivational statement to his players, not a statement of fact.

The Pacers' problem isn't toughness, it's talent. They don't quite have enough of it on this year's roster.

What we have is a great supporting cast for a championship team, if only a truly elite player could be lured to Indiana this summer through free agency...I hope Deron Williams is smart enough to recognize his opportunity.

I agree with you for the most part, but I think Bird really believes the Pacers were soft because I've been thinking it since game 2 of this series, Bird was a tough guy, and sadly, none of the startes have displayed real toughness about themselves. I still think this team could beat the Heat, and yes, a superstar like D. Williams will take this team over the edge.