Heat-Pacers Preview

So we’re supposed to come off this glamorous, rivalry infused, Miami-New York series and get excited about Indiana?

Indiana?

I know a ton of New York fans, and most of them are jerks. I know one person from Indiana. One! And he’s a pretty nice guy.

Now, Frank Vogel is doing his part to fire up the fans and media. Calling a LeBron a flopper, cracker please. If anyone is a flopper on our team, it is Shane Battier, because the man loves taking charges like I love Chick-Fil-A. Which is a lot. In case you didn’t catch that simile.

I personally feel cheated. I just finished finals, which ate up all my free time. Causing me to miss half of the Knicks series. Now I have two weeks off and I’m supposed to spend my free time watching Danny Granger shoot 30% from the field?

Maaan.

I don’t want to sound overconfident. I would be shocked if the Heat lost this series, but I won’t be surprised in the slightest if this series goes to six games.

The Pacers act like a tough defensive team. Physical. Clog the paint. They want to be the Bulls Lite. Like the Bulls without Derrick Rose. Like the team that just lost to the Sixers.

But they’re not really that type of team. You just have to say you’re blue collar if you want to sell tickets in Indiana. Just like you have to have players whose wives have had plastic surgery to connect with the crowd in Miami.

Its just marketing, man.

I mean, the Pacers can crash the boards, but they’re not a pound-the-paint, tough guy team. They like to kick the ball around on the perimeter and shoot threes. And that’s okay, Indiana. Embrace it.

It is no secret that the Heat struggle with guarding the 3 ball. Although, they have improved drastically in the second half of the season in that area. Plus, they did just get done shutting down Steve “The Dentist” Novak. So that’s probably not as much of a weakness as it was. But that doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to Darren Collison firing off some half court threes.

I don’t really know what to say about this series. I’m just not expecting it to be that interesting. Roy Hibbert’s height will give the Heat some problems down low. I think Bosh, UD, and LeBron can shut down David West. Danny Granger? What happened to Danny Granger? I kind of hope he shoots a lot in this series. He was so inefficient all year that he doesn’t scare me.

I’m just trying to not let my eyes wander to the next round. I’m already picturing Heat-Celtics and the intensity that will ensue. But that is a disrespect to this team that Larry Legend has put together. I apologize Indianans. Indiananans?

To be honest with you, I’m more interested to see the celebrity sightings courtside in Indiana. I mean will Bobby Knight be there? Ron Swanson? I can’t even think of any other Indiana celebrities. La Toya Jackson? Johnny Appleseed?

Either way, I will sit in front of my TV with a Chick Fil A sandwich or a four count of strips and enjoy some playoff basketball. I can only pray that we see a Rick Ross- Larry Bird interaction in the stands. Is that too much to ask?