History is
against the Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers lost Game 5 of the Eastern Conference
finals to
the Miami Heat and now trail 3-2 in the series. In NBA playoff history, the
winner of a tiebreaker Game 5 has gone on to win the series 83% of the time.
That doesn't bode well for Indiana's chances at lining up against the San
Antonio Spurs on June 6.
The Pacers have proven time and time again in this
series that they can hang with the Heat. Even this 90-79 loss, they controlled
the tempo and looked much more focused and less tentative than the defending
champions. Even after LeBron James went nova in the third quarter to open up a
double-digit lead, Indiana kept fighting, only losing by 11 points.
GAME 5: LeBron explodes in rebound win
ANGRY: Series was intense before brawl
UNGUARDED: Pacers backcourt falls apart
Indiana's biggest pitfall in Game 5 (besides the fact
that there isn't a lot you can do about James having a game like he had) was
its bench. Roy Hibbert, David West and Paul George combined for 66 of the
Pacers' 79 points. No other Indiana player scored more than 4. Backup point
guard D.J. Augustin was particularly awful, playing a key stretch of the third
quarter while George Hill was in foul trouble and not doing much to replace the
production Hill normally gives them.
There's a chance that this game woke up LeBron, like Game
6 of last year's Eastern Conference Finals series against the Boston Celtics.
If that's indeed the case, the Pacers are doomed (and so are the Spurs, for
that matter). But the Pacers still have plenty of matchup advantages in this
series.
Their odds just got a lot longer. But they're not at
zero yet.
Psycho T and Birdman mix it up: In one of the most inevitable fights
in NBA playoff history, Tyler Hansbrough and Chris Andersen got into a shoving
match that
resulted in a double technical and a flagrant foul call on "Birdman."
The tech on Hansbrough was confusing. Andersen shoved him twice and Hansbrough
barely did more than yell at him. It could have simply
been a reputation call.
