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Forgetting Birdman and Joel Anthony also.

It's actually crazy how stacked that 12-13 Miami team was. I think they would mop the floor with OKC.

Why is this even a debate? Come on lol

EDIT: Also whoever voted / votes for Indiana should get an automatic week suspension

Heat sweep, not even competitive.

Pacers in 6.

Better comparison would be 2013 Pacers vs 2025 Pacers

Players today are so much more talented. The 2013 Heat played against plumbers. Pacers in 4.

They really had Ray Allen, Shane Battier, Rashard Lewis, and Mike Miller coming off the bench.

The important history of this question is that the 2013 Pacers of course took them to 7. And that's after them losing the heartbreaker in game 1 in OT. Then they lost to them in 6 the year after in a series that really was two teams that were broken and not nearly the teams they were the year before.

I think most would say the 2025 Pacers are at least equally as talented as the 2013 Pacers. The run the Pacers have had since December 9th is more impressive than anything that Pacers team had done to that point. Both teams relied on starting lineups that worked really well together, but this team has a deeper bench than that team did.

But Hibbert was almost specially built to face that Heat team. That was a matchup advantage that's hard to figure out exactly how much impact it had on how long and hard fought those series were, but it had a decent amount at least.

That Pacers team played suffocating defense, struggled to score, and crushed the offensive boards against the Heat. This Pacers team would score way more, but would struggle with the rim pressure of the Heat offense and wouldn't be nearly as good on the glass. But their ball pressure would still lead to some great things.

I think the Heat in 6-7 would be my leaning, but really it's just hard to compare teams from different eras, especially teams which are so stylistically different.

I would be pulling for Indiana thats all i know

Heat. I am curious to see arguments for Indy however.

Why is this even a thing? Prime LeBron James?

Heat in 4.

Lol, the Pacers don't have the perimeter defender + interior defender combination to stay in front of Lebron.

BUT, most of us said a similar thing about the 2011 Mavs (though of course they have Dirk) in terms of ability to beat the Heat just based on the roster.

Indiana has played better than the sum of their parts, and of course there's the coaching of Carlisle to take into account.

Now, all my long winded addition, I'm still taking the Heat in 4-5 games lol

Peak Lebron James with a decent roster and a very good coach? That series might go to 5 games if the Pacers have a really hot 3pt shooting night, but the 2013 Heat overall would dominate this year's Pacers.

It totally depends which version of the Heat we're talking about. If it's the regular season version that won 66 games and ripped off 27 straight wins, the Heat are winning in 5. If it's the postseason version with a hobbled Wade that needed 7 to get through the ECF and an absolute miracle to win the Finals, I'd still pick Miami, but I don't think they're winning in 4-5 like the poll suggests.

Tyrese Haliburton would be the 4th best player in that series. This isn't even close, Miami gets the sweep rather easily.

I'd root for the pacers but Heat in 5.

JJ_PR wrote:Tyrese Haliburton would be the 4th best player in that series.

Naah, Wade was washed (and injured), Bosh was destroyed by Roy Hibbert that year from what I remember.

Still, Heat in 6, but Haliburton would be the 2nd best player.

Heat sweep