Predictions for eastern conference finals

With the Miami Heat on a 8-1 run through the playoffs so far and the Indiana Pacers coming off of an exiting, scrappy, series win over the New York Knicks, we are in for a treat with this clash of defensive powerhouses. Indiana was ranked number one defensively during the regular season and they are a force to be reckoned with on that end of the court. Meanwhile  the Miami Heat also are great defensive team who are quick, long, and can get out on the break. Roy Hibbert will be protecting the rim as he did against New York, and Paul George will undoubtably have the daunting job of guarding LeBron James, after doing a fantastic job of gaurding Carmelo Anthony. Indiana's bigs will be a huge concern for the Heat for a few reasons. One being that their starting center in Chris Bosh is 6'11" and weighs 235 lbs, and Indiana's starting center is 7'2" and 280 lbs. (enough said there) Another threat that Indiana's bigs posess is one that I'm sure everyone is aware of, rebounding. The Miami Heat finished last in the rebounding category this past regular season, and Indiana has some rebounding machines. So, for Indiana to beat miami 4 times, they just need to flat out beat them up in the paint. As well as the perimeter, too, because Miami hasn't been shooting the three ball well as of late, especially against Chicago. But this wasn't a big headline because they were going up against a self- destructive Milwaukee Bucks and a severely depleted Chicago Bulls. During these playoffs, Shane Battier has shot 26.1% from beyond the arc, Mario Chalmers shooting 23.8%, LeBron James 32.1%, and even Ray Allen has been shooting a unusual 37.8% from deep. Now, as many know these players are known to be rather good three point shooters ( with maybe the exception of James) and the Miami Heat as a team finished second in three point percentage during the regular season. With the Heat's outside shooting declining, the worst thing for them is to play the pacers. Indiana held their opponents to just around 32% shooting from deep during the regular season, and they were the best at defending in this category.

 However, even with Indiana pounding in the inside and defending the three ball, they still will probably lose because of LeBron James, the last standing player at his prime in these playoffs, and Miami's bench has been exceptional all playoffs long, especially with the  pick up of Chris Anderson, who provides energy, rebounding, and shot blocking off the bench and will probably be a huge lift for the Heat during this series. The way I see it, this series will be tough, close and exiting and I predict that Miami will win in 6 or 7 if they start to pick it up from beyond the arc, LeBron plays like his usual self, Chris Bosh does his part on the boards, and if Dwyane Wade can play consistently through his knee problem.