Friday night NBA and we will see the Indiana Pacers travel to American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida to take on the Miami Heat in game 6 of their best-of seven series. The game has a start time of 8:30 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN. Vegas odds have the Heat listed as 7 point favorites, while the total sits at 183.5.
Analysis: The Indiana Pacers staved off elimination last night as they took game 5 of this series by 3 points. Still they are down 3 games to 2 and the road team has won just 1 of the last 13 meetings SU. The Pacers have struggled to score this year and it has followed them to the playoffs, where they are averaging just 91.6 ppg, including averaging just 88.3 ppg in the last 4 games of this series. In the playoffs Paul George has led the team in scoring at 22.2 ppg, while also leading them in rebounding at 7.6 rpg. David West (15.1 ppg), Lance Stephenson (13.8 ppg) and George Hill (12.3 ppg) have also averaged in double figures for the Pacers. The Pacers have hung their hat on the defensive end of the floor this year and it has been no different in the playoffs, as they have allowed just 91.2 ppg on 42.7% shooting in the post-season so far.
The Miami Heat lost game 1 of this series, by 11 points and then ran off 3 straight wins, before losing 93-90 2 nights ago in Indiana. The Heat can now close out the series at home where they are 39-9 SU on the year and where the host has won 12 of the last 13 games SU in this series. The Heat have averaged 97.1 ppg on 49.1% shooting in the post-season so far and are led by Lebron James, who is averaging 27.3 ppg so far, while also leading the team in rebounding at 7.0 rpg and assists (4.9). Dwayne Wade (19.1 ppg) and Chris Bosh (14.5 ppg) have also averaged in double figures for the Heat so far. Defensively Miami was a solid bunch this year, allowing just 96.9 ppg (5th) on 45.7% shooting (16th) overall and in the playoffs they have been even better, allowing just 92.1 ppg on 46.2% shooting.
Pick: I will be going with the Heat in this one. They have toyed with the Pacers long enough, now its time to end it and end it in big way. The Heat have won both games played here by double digits and while the Pacers did play with energy in the last gam, they also faced a heat team that was without Lebron for much of the game and yet they still had a chance to win it in the end. Lebron will not get in to foul trouble here and i expect him to go off offensively in a big way as he leads his team to another double digit home win over the Pacers, finally ending the series.
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NBA Free Picks: Indiana Pacers at Miami Heat Betting
What pro basketball bettors need to know about Indiana Pacers at Miami Heat on Friday (5/30/14) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Marco D'Angelo with added insight from Ken Thomson.