The Miami Heat are the stronger and more talented team, but the toughness of the Indiana Pacers has been hard to overcome which is why the series is now tied 2-2 with Game 5 coming on Thursday night.
Both the Heat and Pacers play better at home and that is why Miami will take the 3-2 lead in the series with a win in Game 5 and the prime reason will be LeBron James, as he likely will not foul out after doing so in the 99-92 loss. James has been fantastic in the playoffs and he was again in Game 5 for the Heat despite fouling out, as he led the team with 24 points, while Ray Allen was tops with seven rebounds and Dwyane Wade had six assists. The team needs more production inside and James likely will be able to take over this time around.
Roy Hibbert has been fantastic for the Pacers and he did it again on Tuesday with his third straight double-double, adding 23 points and 12 rebounds to tie a record in the conference finals. He has been at his best while playing down low and he has had an amazing stretch in the past few games and for the Pacers to win he will need to do it again,. The Pacers play better when he is on the floor and the stats show that and if the Heat can get him into foul trouble that will be big trouble for the Pacers.
Indiana has more depth, but Miami has more talent at the top and with the Spurs waiting, both teams want to get Game 5 so that they can try and end things in Game 6. The Heat have dealt with coming back from a series deficit before after coming back from 2-1 last season against the Pacers and this time around Indiana will be trying to pull that off.
Chris Bosh needs to play better after scoring just seven points and grabbing three rebounds in 30 minutes, while Chris Andersen needs to add some more production as well. Mario Chalmers was solid in the game with 20 points and the bench for both teams will be a key factor, especially Norris Cole and Shane Battier, who the Pacers have said played dirty in the last game. Both Hibbert and David West did not like his style and that could be a factor on Thursday.
Prediction: Miami wins a close game for a 3-2 lead over the Pacers.
