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| It's time for Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to step up for the Heat. |
The final buzzer sounded. The crowd was cheering and Roy Hibbert was ready to do his best Bart Scott impression during the postgame interview. The Indiana Pacers just defeated the Miami Heat 99-92 to even the series 2-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Pacers
outmuscled and outplayed the Heat. They won the rebounding battle 49-30 and
shot 50 percent from the field. They were more physical and held the Heat to
just 39 percent shooting.
With the
series tied and the teams headed to Miami for game five, it is now time for the
stars to come out. Does that mean Lebron James has a vintage 40-point game or
posts a triple double? Maybe. But, ultimately game 5 will come down to Chris Bosh and Dwyane
Wade.
The winner of Thursday’s game will be guaranteed a chance to win the series on their home court. It will be about the stars. Who will step up? Can Wade shake off his knee injury that has plagued him throughout the playoffs? He has only reached the 20-point plateau once in the playoffs when he scored 21 points way back in game two of the first round. Wade scored 16 points in game 4, but wasn’t his normal self, shooting just 5-15 from the floor.
Bosh was also ineffective shooting just 1-6 from the field and finishing with 7 points. Bosh has battled down low with Pacers center Roy Hibbert all series, but only grabbed three rebounds in game 4. When Ray Allen leads your team in rebounding (7), you aren’t going to win many playoff games.
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| Lebron James has been consistent in the series, but he needs help from Wade and Bosh. |
When the
Heat are focused they are virtually unbeatable, but aside from game two versus
the Chicago Bulls and game three against the Pacers, they have looked very
ordinary so far in these playoffs.
It is now
time for the mighty Heat to show why they’re the defending NBA Champions. They
need to win game five and take the momentum back. If they lose game five they
would be forced to win game 6 on the road. The Pacers have posted a 7-1 record
at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in the playoffs.
Now the
Heat are headed home and face the pressure to perform well. After all this is
the team that was going to win “not one, not two, not three…” and now they find
themselves in a must-win situation.
Wade is averaging a career worst 14.3 points
per game in the playoffs. The Heat need him to play well tonight if they’re
going to win. Can he regain his old pre-injury form and lead this team to the
Finals? Probably not, but they need more out of him if they’re going to win
another NBA Championship. Wade is a superstar and the playoffs are when the
stars come out. It’s his time to shine.
After
posting a dud in game four, the pressure is on the Heat and their stars
to perform. Can they do it? Who will step up?
The stage is set and the world will
be watching. The action starts at 8:30 ET on TNT.
