MIAMI â" A few minutes before the Miami-Indiana series begins this afternoon, NBA Commissioner David Stern will hit the court to present Heat forward LeBron James with the leagueâs MVP award for a third time.
If the scene goes as Dwyane Wade expects, the moment will be more about motivation than culmination for James.
âHis goal is to be the best player at the end of the season,â Wade said. âBut if he can pick up a little history along the way, I donât think heâs mad about that at all.â
So the MVP trophy that was awarded Saturday and will be repeated for ceremonyâs sake today will be put away, and the chase for another â" the one presented to the NBA champions â" resumes for the Heat.
The reigning Eastern Conference champions open a second-round series at home against the Pacers, who won the last meeting between the clubs in the regular season after losing the first three matchups.
Some of the time leading up to this series was dominated by talk of how the Pacers insist the Heat flop their way into calls from referees, but the verbal jousting never really took off. And while perceptions might be that the Heat are overwhelming favorites, it certainly bears noting that while Miamiâs 46 wins were fourth-best in the NBA during the regular season, Indianaâs 42 wins were fifth-best, suggesting there might not be a huge gap between the clubs.
âI feel great,â Pacers coach Frank Vogel said Saturday before his team headed to Miami.
âYou never know how itâs going to go once you get out there, but weâre as prepared as we have been for any game this year and I feel good about what we can do.â
He should, given the way his club has been playing of late.
Since April 1, counting both regular-season and playoff games, Indiana is 16-4 â" the second-best record in the NBA over that span, trailing only San Antonioâs 18-2 mark. The Pacers are scoring nearly 101 points on average in their last 20 games, sixth-best in the league entering Saturdayâs play.
In short, the Pacers â" who beat Miami 105-90 in their last meeting March 26 â" got hot at the right time.
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âI think this is what we all live for,â Pacers forward Danny Granger said. âBig stage, big moment, playing a team that everybody talks about. Itâs definitely the place you want to be. ⦠I donât know if itâs about respect. Itâs about basketball. Itâs about finding out whoâs the better team. Weâre a good team. Theyâre a good team. Itâs going to be a battle.â
Miami doesnât disagree with that assessment.
âTheyâre a much different team in the last six weeks,â Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. âWe feel we are, too. Watching some of our film from those last two games (against Indiana), itâs not really recognizable. Our energy level at that period of time, but also how we were playing offensively â" thereâs a lot of different things from our standpoint.â
It will be a different series for the Heat than the first-rounder with the New York Knicks was, for a lot of reasons. Indianaâs starting front line of Granger, David West and Roy Hibbert stands 6-foot-9, 6-9 and 7-2, respectively.
In the teamsâ last matchup, Indiana outrebounded Miami 49-33, with those three players doing much of the damage. Not surprisingly, rebounding has been a point of emphasis in Miamiâs practices leading up to this series.
âItâs going to be a more physical series,â said Miamiâs Chris Bosh, who will see time at both power forward and center in the series.
âThere will be a lot of fouls drawn, but we canât worry about foul trouble. Of course, we canât just foul them. Free throws are a huge part of their offensive efficiency. So weâre going to have to have a fine balance between both. Weâll have to use our fouls wisely but try not to foul in the act of shooting.â
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