Heat vs. Pacers Preview
Indianapolis, IN (AP) – The Indiana Pacers have thrived under interim coach Frank Vogel’s new approach, winning seven of eight games in their push for a playoff berth.
Their only loss in that stretch came against the Miami Heat.
The teams meet again Tuesday night in Indiana as Miami looks to rebound after falling out of the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
According to NBA odds and oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Heat 4.5-point spread favorites for Tuesday’s game against the Pacers. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 78% of more than 1,088 bets for this game have been placed on the Heat –4.5.
The Pacers (24-28) have surged into eighth place in the East, with a slight cushion over ninth-place Charlotte. Indiana is averaging 107.6 points since Vogel took over, compared to 97.8 under the fired Jim O’Brien.
Four Pacers scored in double figures in a 103-97 win over Milwaukee on Saturday, with Danny Granger recording a game-high 30 points.
“Honestly, I just think we started playing toward our strengths,” Granger said of Vogel’s emphasis. “Whereas before, we kind of just tried to mold everybody into the system that we had. Now, we play inside-out. We’ve got a really quick point guard, so we play up-tempo. We space people out because we have a lot of good shooters. We’re just playing to the strengths that we have with this team.”
Vogel said his players are believing in themselves.
“Our guys are starting to understand how good they are,” Vogel said. “They’re taking care of their business in the fourth quarter with poise and patience.”
That wasn’t the case last Tuesday against the Heat, however, as Indiana was dominated in the fourth quarter of a 117-112 loss. Miami erased a seven-point deficit by outscoring the Pacers 27-15 in the final period.
LeBron James scored 41 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, helping Miami (39-15) avenge a 93-77 defeat to Indiana on Nov. 22.
James scored 22 points but missed a critical free throw with 12.5 seconds remaining in a 85-82 loss to Boston on Sunday, which dropped Miami into second place in the East behind the Celtics.
Chris Bosh had 24 points and 10 rebounds, but Dwyane Wade shot 6 of 17 and combined with James to commit 10 of the Heat’s 17 turnovers. The Celtics turned a four-point halftime deficit into a 74-61 lead at the end of the third.
“We definitely dug ourselves a hole,” James said. “We can’t expect to come into Boston and turn the ball over 12 times in the first half. We also can’t afford to come in the third quarter and not have our motor going and let them go on a 20-3 run to start the quarter. I feel 10 times out of 10 you’re going to lose those games.”
Wade suffered through an even worse shooting effort against Indiana in November, going 1 of 13 from the field and finishing with three points in one of the worst performances of his career.
James has averaged 34.9 points in his last seven against the Pacers, winners of five straight at home.
Miami has taken five of the last six meetings and two in a row at Conseco Fieldhouse.
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