Back to South Beach we go, on Tuesday, as the Indiana Pacers take on the Miami Heat in Game 5 of their best-of-7 series. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm start time and it will be televised live on TNT. Currently the odds have Miami favored by 6.5 points with the total sitting at 180.5 points for the contest.
Free Analysis: Indiana made it a point to establish Roy Hibbert and kept going back to him in Game 3, leading to 19 points and 18 rebounds from the big man in a strong effort. The Pacers got him the ball a few times in the first quarter for easy buckets in Game 4 but stopped going to that well as Miami pulled them out of their half court game and spread the floor with a small lineup. Indiana is going to need more from David West, who was held to a series-low eight points on Sunday, and Hibbert down low, as they were outscored in the paint 50-32 in Game 4. Much of that had to do fact that Hibbert and West were limited to a combined 60 minutes due to five personal fouls each. SF Danny Granger has put together two strong games in a row (18.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.5 APG), but he was terrible in Miami during this series, scoring just 9.0 PPG on 6-of-24 FG in Games 1-2. G Paul George had a well-rounded Game 4, filling the stat sheet with 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. But his backcourt mate, G George Hill, failed to hit double-figures for the first time in nine playoff games on Sunday, scoring just eight points on 2-of-9 FG. The Pacers have the league’s fourth-best road record at 22-15 (60%), while Miami is 32-6 SU (21-16-1 ATS) at home, outscoring their home opponents by 11.1 ppg. Indiana has been strong with just one day’s rest this season (27-11, 19-19 ATS), which is slightly better than the Heat in this scenario (28-13, 19-22 ATS). LeBron James has had an unbelievable series with 30.5 PPG (47.4% FG), 12.3 RPG, 5.5 APG and 3.0 SPG. These scoring numbers would be even higher if he wasn’t shooting just 69% from the line and 1-for-11 from three-point range. Despite Wade’s huge performance on the road in Game 4, he has posted better numbers at home in the playoffs (23.2 PPG) than on the road (19.3 PPG). PG Mario Chalmers struggled in the two home games this series with just 4.5 PPG on 2-of-13 FG, but has pumped in 16.5 PPG (54.2% FG), 4.5 RPG and 4.0 APG in the past two contests. PF Udonis Haslem had just six points in Games 1-3, but he shined on Sunday with 14 points (5-of-6 FG, 4-of-4 FT) and four rebounds.This series remains low-scoring with Indiana averaging just 87.8 PPG (40.8% FG) and Miami posting only 86.5 PPG on 40.1% FG, including 18.5% from three-point land.
Free Pick: Im going to side with the home team in this one. the Heat are 32-6 at home and have outscored their opponents 11.1 ppg on this floor this year. Miami is without Bosh once again, but they have had some time to adjust to his loss and should be ready for a complete game at both ends of the floor tonight. The Pacers have played great defense this year, but they do allow 94.4 ppg on the road, while Miami allows just 88.7 ppg at home. The Heat are the better team here and while Indiana has put up a heck of a fight so far, I feel that Miami is ready to crush them in this one. The Heat just have too many weapons and will treat the home crowd to an easy DD win in this one.
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Betting Strategies: Handicapping NBA Playoffs
Host Marco D'Angelo and Pregame Pro Vegas Runner discuss their strategies about betting the NBA Playoffs and being successful.