Heat Check

On a night in which you shoot 20 percent from long distance, get out rebounded 52-36, and your coach is arguing for three second calls...you know your in trouble.  The Heat just wrapped up one of their most out of touch, out of character losses since LeBron joined the club last year.  In a game where we saw David West front a point guard, Danny Granger try to fight LeBron for the second straight game, and Dwyane Wade flex on his head coach the end result was probably the most shocking.  The Heat got schooled by the Pacers 94-75 and lost control of the series falling behind 2-1.  If you saw this one, then it probably has you asking yourself; what did I just witness?

Fans of basketball enjoy watching good basketball.  If your a fan of the game who enjoys this then you must love the Indiana Pacers right now.  Let's face it, the Heat have played awful in these last two meetings and that's not hard to figure out.  Pacers coach Frank Vogel not only has his guys believing, he also has them playing insane defense.  You know your playing insane defense when Wade is frustrated to the point of going "Sprewell" on his head coach and only scores five points laying down for his worst playoff performance ever.

The Pacers held the Heat to 75 points in both games two and three.  This is unheard of if your a Miami fan.  The Heat averaged 98 points per game in the regular season, an average that the Pacers have not let them match through three games so far.  Indiana is a young athletic team with solid depth.  This simple formula has allowed Vogel to get every ounce of effort out of his team on the defensive end.

Rebounds have been huge for the Pacers as well.  They are crashing the boards and clearly taking advantage of their size out rebounding the Heat 140-121 through three.  Indiana's strong presence on the boards and on defense have carried over to the offensive side of the ball; funny how that works.

Four Indiana starters scored in double figures lead by Roy Hibbert's monster double-double, (19 points/18 rebounds).  Formulate that with skull shattering "D" and you have yourself a chance to upset one of basketball's juggernauts.

The Heat seem lost, Wade appears distant, and Chris Bosh isn't walking through that door on Sunday.  The Pacers smell blood, but Miami is far from finished.  Obviously game four is a must win for the Heat.  They need to get more contribution from their "glue" guys.  Anthony, Haslem, and Turiaf combined for 12 rebounds and 15 points in game three.  Battier has disappeared and has been a non-factor so far in the post season.  If Miami's role players can't find a way to contribute then they are done.  LeBron James and Dwyane Wade might be able to work some magic and carry them through this series with the Pacers, but that would be as far as it went and right now escaping this series looks doubtful.

Following the Game two win in Miami on Tuesday night, David West yelled at his young teammates to get off the floor and abstain from excessive celebration.  One win wasn't good enough for West and now the Pacers as a whole have embraced that same attitude.