The Indiana Pacers don't regard the injury to Miami Heat center Chris Bosh as ... - Indianapolis Star

MIAMI -- The Indiana Pacers don't regard the injury to Miami Heat center Chris Bosh as a sign that the path to the Eastern Conference finals will get any easier.

It'll remain a massive challenge as long as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are on the court.

Just go back to the second half of Game 1, when Miami's dynamic duo led the Heat to victory.

Bosh is out indefinitely with an abdominal strain. He suffered the injury late in the first half of Game 1 when he was fouled by Pacers center Roy Hibbert on a dunk.

"I don't think we can overreact to one guy going down," Pacers forward David West said. "Wade and LeBron, with Bosh going out, it actually puts the ball in their hands even more. When you've got two guys like that, I don't think them losing (Bosh) really affects what they're going to do other than his height. They've still got guys coming off the bench and guys they can plug in who are strong and physical."

Taking away one of Miami's Big Three would seem like an advantage for the Pacers.

That may not be the case when the two others are among the best in the world, are hard to beat on either end of the court and are in peak condition.

James and Wade combined to score 42 of Miami's 53 points in the second half of its Game 1 victory Sunday.

Game 2 is at 7 tonight at American Airlines Arena.

"Our play isn't going to change dramatically," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "With Bosh in the lineup, we understand LeBron and Wade are major threats. With him out of the lineup, we understand they're major threats. There's not a lot of differences in how you're going to approach the game. Obviously it helps (us) not having Bosh's scoring ability out there, but they have other guys."

The Heat were 4-5 without Bosh in the lineup this season.

West and Hibbert will have the frontcourt edge going up against Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem and Ronny Turiaf. James will likely get more minutes at power forward.

West and Hibbert combined for 34 points and 23 rebounds in Game 1.

"You have to pound it inside, and even when they're small, they still defend the same way," Vogel said. "If you trust the pass and work the ball from side to side, that's the best way to attack."

James' scoring average increased from 26.9 to 30.8 during the nine games Bosh missed. James had 26 points in the second half Sunday.

The Pacers expect Wade to be even more aggressive when he has the ball.

That means Danny Granger, Paul George, Leandro Barbosa and Dahntay Jones will have to do a better job of defending the two stars.

The four Pacers wing players accounted for 24 points on 7-of-28 shooting in Game 1.

"We really have to make those two play defense," Granger said. "Just the fact that they dominate the ball offensively for their team, especially with Chris out, we have to make them play defense. We have to put them in screen and rolls. We have to get them on screens. We have to make them play."

Granger needs a bounce-back game after he went 1-of-10 in Game 1 and claimed he was used as a "decoy" in the offense.

Vogel isn't overhauling his offense to make Granger more effective. He's simply preaching a basic fundamental part of the game -- passing -- from the inside-out.

"We just need ball movement," Vogel said. "That's what we need on the offensive end. We need the open man to get the shot every time down and execute great passing. That's what we need offensively."

Call Star reporter Mike Wells at (317) 444-6053.