2014 NBA EC Finals: IND (1) vs MIA (2)

[BKing10]

Was at the game. Felt like they were trying to play through Wade and not Lebron. Was weird, didn't really notice and he still put up good numbers. Odd game actually. We could never put it away (had 4 or 5 chances to go 20+) and Miami could never sustain a run to get it close. Don't expect us to play that well and them that bad. Bosh will hit a couple of those 3s too. Should be a good series.

[Run DLC]

Christina needs to show up in game 2. I hope Spobborn change his rotation and start Haslem in game 2.

[Michael Lucky]

weird game mostly because the Pacers offense was clicking. Both Wade and Lebron shot well to and they still lost by 11.

[HeartSouloma]

Miami heat fan logic:

If the Heat have more FTA, it's because "they attack the rim and play more aggressively"

if the other team has more FTA, it's because "biased officiating"

You guys are hilarious.

This.

Pacers bigs destroy MIA. MIA needs to go bigger if they want to win.

[Michael Lucky]

guess i'll state the obvious, but winner of Game 2 will win the series.

[BaffLer]

On the bright side, Game of Thrones and Mad Men tonight! So that should soften the blow of tonight's loss to the Pacers.

[rich316]

guess i'll state the obvious, but winner of Game 2 will win the series.

If Indy takes game 2, they are definitely in the drivers seat. Miami winning game 2 just gets them back to even ground. Miami could win both of their home games, but it's a lot more likely that Indy would get the split there.

[CircleCitysportsfan]

That team that struggled against the Hawks and Wizards will eventually show up.

You better hope so bud

[Kobeshow]

Lucky Miami always have the refs on their side.

I mean how often do you see a player make a flagrant foul, not say anything and get a technical. It happens so often.

It was a personal foul and THEN a flagrant foul, and it was the right call....

[bobly]

My biggest concerns throughout the season were that our three point shooters haven't been producing and that our defense has dropped off. Both of those things hurt Miami today. This will be a good series, but I doubt Indiana continues to shoot as well as they did today.

I laughed when they cut to Riley and Zo after that terrible Wade turnover in the fourth. Riley was so angry his face was cherry red.

[Kings2013]

props to the Pacers... I was worried beforehand they wouldn't make this a quality series... off to a good start

[Joao Saraiva]

Miami heat fan logic:

If the Heat have more FTA, it's because "they attack the rim and play more aggressively"

if the other team has more FTA, it's because "biased officiating"

You guys are hilarious.

This.

Pacers bigs destroy MIA. MIA needs to go bigger if they want to win.

Other fans logic: any time the Heat win the NBA is rigged, even if they have less FTs.

Honestly everyone complains too much.

Indiana won fair. The only decisions from the refs I really disliked were the Heat vs Nets video replay and the LAC vs OKC video replay.

[te887848]

We're talking about an offense so incompetent that it scored 100 points or more in exactly one playoff game leading up to today despite playing lowly teams like the Hawks and Wizards. All of a sudden this 23rd ranked offense comes out slinging and hits threes at a higher than usual rate while having an obscene 37:15 edge in FTs and they drop 107. That's called an aberration. Won't really happen again and Miami will still take the series.

[EH15]

Fact is, Bosh is not gonna "show up". He hasn't shown up since the first year of the big 3 against the Bulls and Mavs. He never was an ideal first option, but at least he built up that alpha mentality in Toronto. He doesn't even have a beta mentality now and is more than satisfied with roaming around the perimeter and playing defence.

And why the hell did Riley amnesty Miller as opposed to Joel Anthony, while signing 2 cheerleaders, Beasley and Oden.

[NBA82]

It wasn't biased officiating, it was just bad officiating.

The third quarter, in particular, was terribly uneven. At one point, there was a missed foul on the Pacers, a ticky-tack call against the Heat, and then a phantom offensive foul on the Heat all in a row. I believe I read somewhere that this was the second-largest FT disparity in ECF history. That's pretty crazy, given the play styles of each team.

That being said, there were plenty of other reasons for the outcome. Indiana shot the lights out, not just on 3s but also on long 2s. Miami played no defense. And for whatever reason, Chris Bosh becomes a poor man's Channing Frye against the Pacers.

[winter_mute_13]

Well, that was surprising.

Oh, it was a joy to watch the Pacers' offense running smoothly for a change. But it feels like we caught Miami unprepared more than anything. Maybe they really believed the media hype about the Pacers' demise.

But I think they'll take us seriously next game. So probably it won't be so easy for the Pacers to score. But that's fine, we're built to gut out low scoring grind games anyway.

[Scarface844]

Well, that was surprising.

Oh, it was a joy to watch the Pacers' offense running smoothly for a change. But it feels like we caught Miami unprepared more than anything. Maybe they really believed the media hype about the Pacers' demise.

But I think they'll take us seriously next game. So probably it won't be so easy for the Pacers to score. But that's fine, we're built to gut out low scoring grind games anyway.

If you Pacer fans think your beating the Heat and making the finals after 3 pathetic months and getting blown out repeatedly in the playoffs then LOL. You guys would get swept in the finals, they'd probably cancel game 4 because of how bad you'd be losing in each game. Indiana has reached its ceiling (ECF).

[spectacularmove]

One thing that I liked about the Pacers is how they didn't let Miami back in the game, they counterarrest every mini run of Miami (the Heat love those comebacks) with composure. Thats a good sign

[rich316]

My biggest concerns throughout the season were that our three point shooters haven't been producing and that our defense has dropped off. Both of those things hurt Miami today. This will be a good series, but I doubt Indiana continues to shoot as well as they did today.

I laughed when they cut to Riley and Zo after that terrible Wade turnover in the fourth. Riley was so angry his face was cherry red.

I remember that too, I was thinking he looked like he was getting tanked because the Heat were playing badly.

Ray Allen was a pleasant surprise v. the Nets, and he played well in this game. He's actually been making smart decisions and passes with the ball recently, instead of being a complete disaster at everything except shooting. Aside from Bosh, Chalmers was also a total no-show. He got good looks, he was just bad. I was a little surprised they didn't try to get Battier more shots after he hit his first shot, I thought he was going to have a big game after that but he didn't do anything.

But yeah, the biggest difference from this Heat team to previous teams is they can no longer win games on the strength of their defense. They can turn up the intensity for 5 minutes at a time, but they can't carry themselves through entire quarters with it. If their shooters don't hit shots, they just have to pray that Lebron can go Super Saiyan and win by himself. That's not going to be good enough v. a defense like the Pacers.

[Dajadeed]

It looks like the Pacers are locked and completely focused on the Heat. This is what all Heat fans were afraid of, and why many were cheering so hard for the Hawks and Wizards.

Indy is just a nightmare for the Heat. Physical, athletic, and BIG. Miami can't handle that.

They should have beat them last year, if not for Vogel doing stupid stuff like taking out Hibbert.

It looks like they want to make the best of their second chance this year, now that they barely got it.

Should be a fun series.