2013 NBA Playoffs - Eastern Conference Finals Preview

The Heat have been in a class of their own throughout the 2012-2013 NBA season. It has been speculated that nobody would be able to beat Miami in a 7-game series. Many thought that if there was a team in the East that could challenge them, it would be the Indiana Pacers. Well, here we are. The Pacers have a chance to prove their worth. Indiana actually held a 2-1 series lead over Miami in last year's Conference Semis before losing in six. They also won the season series 2-1 this season. Indiana can hang with Miami, but can they close the deal? We will find out starting Wednesday. Here is how I see it shaking out, with a breakdown of who holds the advantage in some positional matchups.

      
1 Miami (-700) vs. 3 Indiana (+500)

PG - Mario Chalmers vs. George Hill
SG - Dwayne Wade vs. Lance Stephenson
SF - LeBron James vs. Paul George
PF - Udonis Haslem vs. David West
C - Chris Bosh vs. Roy Hibbert
Bench - Miami vs. Indiana
Coach - Erik Spoelstra vs. Frank Vogel

Miami has been simply dominant in the postseason. They have posted an 8-1 record to this point, and have rarely been challenged. Miami has been lead by the world's best player LeBron James, but his supporting cast has contributed their fair share. Indiana has used more of a collective effort to advance to this point for the first time since 2004. Ultimately, I don;t see how the Heat will lose this series. While Indiana has a lot of good pieces, they don't have the star power to compete for a full seven games. The Heat will look to confirm their greatness and win the East for a third consecutive season.

Prediction - Miami over Indiana 4-2