May 30, 2013
The dog fight between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers got just a little bit tougher on Tuesday night when the Pacers hit back to win Game 4 in Indiana and tie the series up at 2-2. The defending champions now need to hold serve in Miami with an eye on wrapping up the series in Game 6. All the time they will know that the veteran San Antonio Spurs are waiting and resting.
It’s pretty difficult to argue with LeBron James and his 28-7-5 stat line for the series. The power forward has shown that he has the ability to trouble Indiana in just about every way and has done what is needed against one of the NBA’s better defenses. However, LeBron also needs some help. Dwyane Wade has done some pretty decent scoring, Mario Chalmers has had a couple of pretty good games and Chris Andersen has done well off the bench as well.
However, the team’s perimeter bench shooters, most notably Ray Allen and Shane Battier, have struggled to get going and the Heat are struggling to contain the Pacers offensively. The problem is the pure size difference with Roy Hibbert and David West seemingly able to score at will through the first four games of the series.
Of course Miami will need their three-point shooters to step up, that’s something that is critical to their identity, but it is also becoming apparent that Chris Bosh is an absolutely pivotal figure in the success of this team against Indiana.
Bosh suffered an apparent injury in Game 4, which looked pretty bad, though he did return to the game. An injury also kept Bosh out of last year’s NBA playoff series between the two teams.
Defensively, it is always going to be tough 6’11” player to make an impact against the huge West/Hibbert tandem. However, he needs to start claiming floor space near the basket to make Hibbert’s job harder and Miami do need him to pick up more rebounds.
The 29-year old is perhaps more essential on the opposite end of the floor. He is a player who can draw Indiana’s big men away from the basket. He won’t do that with 1-for-6 shooting, but if he shoots as well as he did in the first three games, but more often, then Bosh has the skills to tear Hibbert/West apart as well as opening up space for drives to the basket and a spread the floor type of offense.
Bosh’s fitness for Friday’s Game 5 hasn’t been officially announced. It is presumed that he will start, but there is a chance that he will be at least a little bit limited. Miami needs him to find his scoring touch and his shooting range. Game 4 was a clear reminder that this is a serious series and the defending NBA champions are going to have to fight very hard to beat Frank Vogel and the Indiana Pacers in this series.
