line has moved towards miami everywhere. d you really think a .500 team can push a 1 seed to a game 7?! look at spurs 17 game home win streak, that got snapped also.
the pacers are ready, they know what they have to do below. i think they see winning on the road as a challenge. as we have learned in the past, good teams dont wait to close up series:
Pacers will try to make the road feel like home
Indiana strives to impose its will on Miami as it has in games at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The home team has won every game in the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat. Jeff Foster (right) battled Miami's Lamar Odom in the Pacers' series-opening victory. -- Matt Kryger / The Star
Related content
• Pacers will try to make the road feel like home
• Miami looks to Odom to bring his best game
• Notebook: Jones ready to get back on the floor
• What they are saying
• Message board
• Ask the expert: Mark Montieth
• More Pacers news
Tuesday's Game 6
• Who: Pacers at Miami (Pacers lead best-of-seven series 3-2)
• Tipoff: 7 p.m.
• TV: WTTV-4, ESPN
• Radio: WIBC-1070 AM
Win would offer edge
The Indiana Pacers can gain a scheduling advantage heading into the Eastern Conference finals if they close out their series with Miami on Tuesday.
The Pacers would have three days to prepare before meeting the winner of the New Jersey-Detroit series. Those two teams will play Game 7 of their series in Detroit on Thursday, with the winner having one day to prepare for the opener of the conference finals on Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Should the Pacers lose to Miami on Tuesday they will play the Heat in Game 7 at Conseco Fieldhouse on Thursday. The game will be televised on ESPN.
By Mark Montieth
mark.montieth@indystar.com
May 17, 2004
To avoid playing a Game 7, they'll have to play Game 6 like they played Game 5.
And, of course, not at all like they played Games 3 and 4.
The Indiana Pacers have no confusion about what it will take to break Miami's lock on its homecourt advantage when they attempt to close out their Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The thread that has run through the series, which they lead 3-2, begins with a collective defensive effort capped by aggressive rebounding that sparks momentum and balance in their offense, which leads to better shooting, which reduces Miami's fast-break opportunities, which contributes to the Pacers' defensive success all over again.
When that happens, they have won. When it doesn't, they have lost.
"It all starts with our defense," Jeff Foster said. "We haven't played our defensive game down there. If we come out with the same defensive effort we had (Saturday) night, it will put us in position to win."
Foster figures to be a central figure in the Pacers' defensive effort. He kept Heat forward Lamar Odom in check in Saturday's win and his absence was an equal factor in Miami's Game 4 victory last Wednesday. Foster played just 16 minutes in that game because of foul trouble, and Odom scored 14 of his 22 points when Foster was on the bench.
"Jeff's an underrated defender in terms of the general public," coach Rick Carlisle said. "But I really believe among coaches and basketball people, they know he's one of the better post defenders. He's big and moves his feet pretty well on the perimeter. He's a unique guy to have, because he has pretty good versatility for a guy who's a starting center."
Miami has shot .405 from the field in its three losses in Conseco Fieldhouse, and .493 in its two wins on its homecourt. Miami has as much to do with that discrepancy as the Pacers do, however. It has fed off the frenzy of its fans at home, but been unable to carry the same energy and confidence into its road games.
The Pacers, meanwhile, have averaged 15 turnovers in their three victories in the series, and 11.5 in their two losses. That seeming oddity actually points out their need to establish tempo and play with a measure of reckless abandon, rather than getting sucked into a careful, plodding offense.
Their challenge, then, is to take Miami out of its considerable comfort zone by imposing their discipline on the game.
The Heat have won 18 consecutive games at home. Their most recent loss came to Toronto on March 2, a game rookie point guard Dwyane Wade missed with an injury. The Pacers won their only regular season game there on Jan. 5, but that was a distant era when the Heat were drawing crowds about 6,000 short of capacity.
Now that their games are selling out, the Heat are playing a different game. The Pacers built comfortable first-quarter leads in both Games 3 and 4 in Miami, but gradually succumbed to the Heat's energy.
The Pacers have shown no bravado in the wake of their Game 5 victory. Sunday, when they gathered briefly at the fieldhouse to review video, lift weights and receive treatment for injuries, the players talked of wanting to keep Tuesday's game close and then making winning plays at the end.
Carlisle, meanwhile, was characteristically cautious.
"It's going to take nothing less than an inspired effort from our team for a full 48 minutes to even have a chance," he said.
the pacers are ready, they know what they have to do below. i think they see winning on the road as a challenge. as we have learned in the past, good teams dont wait to close up series:
Pacers will try to make the road feel like home
Indiana strives to impose its will on Miami as it has in games at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The home team has won every game in the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat. Jeff Foster (right) battled Miami's Lamar Odom in the Pacers' series-opening victory. -- Matt Kryger / The Star
Related content
• Pacers will try to make the road feel like home
• Miami looks to Odom to bring his best game
• Notebook: Jones ready to get back on the floor
• What they are saying
• Message board
• Ask the expert: Mark Montieth
• More Pacers news
Tuesday's Game 6
• Who: Pacers at Miami (Pacers lead best-of-seven series 3-2)
• Tipoff: 7 p.m.
• TV: WTTV-4, ESPN
• Radio: WIBC-1070 AM
Win would offer edge
The Indiana Pacers can gain a scheduling advantage heading into the Eastern Conference finals if they close out their series with Miami on Tuesday.
The Pacers would have three days to prepare before meeting the winner of the New Jersey-Detroit series. Those two teams will play Game 7 of their series in Detroit on Thursday, with the winner having one day to prepare for the opener of the conference finals on Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Should the Pacers lose to Miami on Tuesday they will play the Heat in Game 7 at Conseco Fieldhouse on Thursday. The game will be televised on ESPN.
By Mark Montieth
mark.montieth@indystar.com
May 17, 2004
To avoid playing a Game 7, they'll have to play Game 6 like they played Game 5.
And, of course, not at all like they played Games 3 and 4.
The Indiana Pacers have no confusion about what it will take to break Miami's lock on its homecourt advantage when they attempt to close out their Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The thread that has run through the series, which they lead 3-2, begins with a collective defensive effort capped by aggressive rebounding that sparks momentum and balance in their offense, which leads to better shooting, which reduces Miami's fast-break opportunities, which contributes to the Pacers' defensive success all over again.
When that happens, they have won. When it doesn't, they have lost.
"It all starts with our defense," Jeff Foster said. "We haven't played our defensive game down there. If we come out with the same defensive effort we had (Saturday) night, it will put us in position to win."
Foster figures to be a central figure in the Pacers' defensive effort. He kept Heat forward Lamar Odom in check in Saturday's win and his absence was an equal factor in Miami's Game 4 victory last Wednesday. Foster played just 16 minutes in that game because of foul trouble, and Odom scored 14 of his 22 points when Foster was on the bench.
"Jeff's an underrated defender in terms of the general public," coach Rick Carlisle said. "But I really believe among coaches and basketball people, they know he's one of the better post defenders. He's big and moves his feet pretty well on the perimeter. He's a unique guy to have, because he has pretty good versatility for a guy who's a starting center."
Miami has shot .405 from the field in its three losses in Conseco Fieldhouse, and .493 in its two wins on its homecourt. Miami has as much to do with that discrepancy as the Pacers do, however. It has fed off the frenzy of its fans at home, but been unable to carry the same energy and confidence into its road games.
The Pacers, meanwhile, have averaged 15 turnovers in their three victories in the series, and 11.5 in their two losses. That seeming oddity actually points out their need to establish tempo and play with a measure of reckless abandon, rather than getting sucked into a careful, plodding offense.
Their challenge, then, is to take Miami out of its considerable comfort zone by imposing their discipline on the game.
The Heat have won 18 consecutive games at home. Their most recent loss came to Toronto on March 2, a game rookie point guard Dwyane Wade missed with an injury. The Pacers won their only regular season game there on Jan. 5, but that was a distant era when the Heat were drawing crowds about 6,000 short of capacity.
Now that their games are selling out, the Heat are playing a different game. The Pacers built comfortable first-quarter leads in both Games 3 and 4 in Miami, but gradually succumbed to the Heat's energy.
The Pacers have shown no bravado in the wake of their Game 5 victory. Sunday, when they gathered briefly at the fieldhouse to review video, lift weights and receive treatment for injuries, the players talked of wanting to keep Tuesday's game close and then making winning plays at the end.
Carlisle, meanwhile, was characteristically cautious.
"It's going to take nothing less than an inspired effort from our team for a full 48 minutes to even have a chance," he said.
