NBA Eastern Conference Finals picture: Can the Pacers advance to the Finals?

Eastern Conference Finals Picture/Prediction: Pacers will Defeat the Miami Heat 4-3 and advance to the 2013 NBA Finals

For my final Eastern Conference prediction, I’m picking the Pacers to shock not only the Miami Heat but the world en-route to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000 when Reggie Miller was the leader of the team.

Why did I pick the Pacers to win the series? For three reasons.  First, the Miami Heat continue to struggle in the offensive and defensive rebounding category because they are out-sized and outmatched by Roy Hibbert and David West. Second, Dwyane Wade is not 100 percent healthy which means Miami’s “big 3” are playing more like the “big 2 1/2”. Third, Chris Bosh has yet to show up in this series and he has finally been exposed as a fake tough guy in my opinion. Over the past two post-season games versus the Pacers, Bosh has averaged a career playoff low 13.9 points.  The Heat will definitely need more scoring from him if they hope win the series.

Lebron James continues to carry the load for the Miami Heat into close games while Pacers have figured out how to interrupt the effectiveness of Bosh and Wade. The Heat have not proven to be the more dominant team in this series because they have failed to win in convincing fashion. Thus far, both games have been decided by four points or less. If the Heat stand any chance of advancing to the finals it will come down to the contributions of Ray Allen and Shane Battier to knock down the open shot.

Finally, Paul George has responded to the challenge of defending Lebron James. George has become a bonafide superstar over the past two playoffs series and the combination of him and Roy Hibbert have become a serious defensive problem for the Miami Heat. If the Heat fail to make the 2013 NBA finals, I expect Chris Bosh to be the first player to be on the chopping block. My prediction might be far fetched but I’m going with my instinct. Either way, the series will go down to the final game.

Do you think the Heat will advance to the NBA finals ? Prove me wrong and vote below.

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