The Heat have had an easy road playing the only team in this years playoffs with a losing record in the Bucks and then facing the banged up Chicago Bulls. In that same situation they had a long lay off and came out in Game 1 against the Bulls very rusty. I expect the same thing and the Pacers are very much under valued here. First of all they have all of the ingredients of a team that gives the Heat trouble. They have the biggest front line in the NBA in HIbbert, George and West and it's the reason they are #1 in rebound margin while the Heat are last. They also have very under rated defenders who can guard Lebron and Wade in Stephenson and George. I really like the value we are getting here with the Pacers and I think they could steal game 1 or game 2. The Heat have also been a 2nd half team in many games this year and I expect the Pacers to play well early. The 3 refs for tonight's game seem to also favor the road dogs as home favorites 5-9.5 points on the season are a combined 28-47 ATS. Pacers should be in this game because of their defense and their offense continues to improve as they are able to spread it out.
