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Indiana Pacers – The Roy Hibbert Plan Stopped Working
Despite putting up impressive numbers like 20 points and 17 rebounds, Roy Hibbert was far from his usual effectiveness on both ends of the floor. The Indiana Pacers couldn’t get stops on defense because they didn’t have a plan and reaction course in case their center wasn’t as effective anymore. Paul George went through a nightmarish night, and all the hard work of the first two games evaporated in an instant.
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Miami Heat – LeBron James Takes Paul George to School
LeBron James didn’t have the best game of his career, but he made the biggest impact during his time on the court, not just leading the Miami Heat to an impressive win in game 3 through exceptional offensive basketball that Udonis Haslem look like the top marksman in the league, while making sure Paul George remembered who the real Alpha-Male in this series is.
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Indiana Pacers Need to Show They’re More Than a One Trick Pony
Paul George was excellent in the first two games of the series, while George Hill remembered to make himself noticed in the second. Yet most of the attention has been about the presence of Roy Hibbert when he was on and off the court, and that seems to have been the difference between a win in game 2 and the loss in game 1.
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Miami Heat, LeBron James Have Been Here Before
Losing home court advantage? Check. Looking slightly outmatched on the court for a big chunks of the series so far? Happened as well. The Miami Heat have been the most scrutinized franchise in the NBA over the last three seasons, with LeBron James usually in the center of that storm. Most of the time, they find the solutions to find the right path to get themselves out of trouble.
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Indiana Pacers – Paul George & Roy Hibbert Need to Keep This Up
While Paul George and Roy Hibbert continued their excellent series against the Miami Heat in game 2, George Hill might have been the real difference with a much improved performance from the series opener, leading to a 97-93 win and a 1-1 tie in the Eastern conference finals.
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Miami Heat – LeBron James Couldn’t Handle Roy Hibbert on the Floor
In game 1, LeBron James was the hero, but the role was turned 48 hours later, as the Miami Heat went to their star again to try and save the day, but the presence of Roy Hibbert led to some bad decisions form the NBA MVP, turning the ball over twice and leading to the series now being tied at 1-1.
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Miami Heat Benefit From LeBron James Being a Different Kind of Superstar
The Miami Heat aren’t the best team in the NBA for the last couple of years, winning 46 of their last 49 games just because LeBron James is a superstar. It’s because he’s the kind of superstar no one has even seen before.
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Indiana Pacers – Paul George Isn’t The Hero Because Frank Vogel Left Roy Hibbert On the Bench
It was all set up for Paul George to be the unlikely hero of game 1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. He did a good job on LeBron James; hit a wild three pointer that sent the game into overtime; and three super-clutch free throws with 2.2 seconds left to give the Indiana Pacers a 102-101 lead. And then Frank Vogel takes out Roy Hibbert for the final play (again!), leading to a defeat off a buzzer beating layup.
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Miami Heat – LeBron James Pulls Off a Little Bit of Playoff History
Despite his triple double, there was a feeling LeBron James was being bested on both ends of the floor by Paul George. But on the final play of the game, with 2.2 seconds left to save the Miami Heat from another opening game loss, the best player in the NBA proved once again that all the talk about him shying away from the basket or not shining in clutch situations is a thing best kept in the past.
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Indiana Pacers, First Team in 30 Years to Reach the Conference Finals Without a Top 8 Draft Pick
The last time a team has reached the conference finals without a single player selected in the top 8 of the NBA draft were the San Antonio Spurs in 1983, who were led by George Gervin. The Indiana Pacers have now ended the 30 year wait, having only two top-10 players in their active roster in these playoffs, D.J. Augustin and Paul George, telling a little bit about the clever way this team has been built over the last few years.