Well well well. How things have changed. It wasn't that long ago that people were calling for Larry Bird to be sacked as Pacers president of operations. And now, he has just become the first person on the planet to be named MVP, Coach of the Year and NBA Executive of the Year.

The Executive of the Year is a weird award because it's rewarding someone for work they may have done over a number of years, as Bird has done with this Pacers squad.

Highlights attributable to Bird are said to include (in order of importance, in my humble opinion):

• Signing David West without breaking the bank (2 years at $20 million) -- West has become, as coach Vogel says, the "backbone" and "leader" of the team. He is, without a doubt, one of the best team signings in years.
• Drafting Roy Hibbert -- who has gone from "big stiff" to All-Star. Sure, he still has a lot to learn, but Hibbert is a rare commodity in the NBA that most franchises would love to have on their team.
• Drafting Paul George -- a future two-way star in the league. He also has a long way to go but has shown flashes of brilliance and a whole lotta potential.
• Firing Jim O'Brien and holding on to Frank Vogel as head coach -- Vogel has revitalized this franchise. O'Brien had his positives but he was too negative for this young team. Vogel, while not a master of Xs and Os, has been the ultimate motivator, getting the team to think positive and reach for the stars.
• Getting Darren Collison and shedding Troy Murphy -- big deal at the time, and even though Collison as arguably underperformed, his play has been crucial to the team's success. Getting rid of Murphy's bloated contract helped too.
• Acquiring George Hill for a draft pick (Kawhi Leonard) -- I know Leonard has become a starter in San Antone, but so has George Hill (at least for the remainder of the season). Provided Hill stays in Indiana, this is a huge pick up for the team -- a guy that can flat out play. Leonard would have been stuck in the back of the rotation anyway.
• Drafting Tyler Hansbrough -- some people are down on Tyler but his energy and hustle (and occasional mid-range jumper) is infectious. If only he could be more consistent and better defensively.
• Trading a second round pick for Leandro Barbosa -- I'd love for Barbosa to stay in Indiana, but I guess we'll have to see. He showed against the Heat last night why this was a sensational trade. Even if he leaves, it wasn't a bad rental for just a second round pick.
• Hiring Brian Shaw as associate head coach -- another underrated choice. Shaw is a capable head coach, and as it has been said, having the player-friendly, championship-winning coach around is like having "two head coaches".
• Trading Brandon Rush for Lou Amundson -- Lou has been solid, a poor man's version of Jeff Foster, if you will, but for me the better part of the deal was getting rid of pothead Rush, who showed zero improvement and more importantly, no desire for improvement for three years.
• Picking up Jeff Pendergraph and Kyrylo Fesenko -- good insurance policies, I guess.
• Drafting Lance Stephenson -- big question mark, but probably one of the black spots on Bird's achievement list...

Well done and congratulations to Bird!

I still have no idea how the Indiana Pacers just evened their second round series with the Miami Heat at one game apiece with a 78-75 victory.

Seriously, it was one of the ugliest games I had ever seen, one I had expected the Pacers to lose by 30 at one stage. In the first half, the Pacers dribbled down the shot clock on just about every possession, missed almost all their open shots, turned the ball over incessantly and got a bunch of bad calls against them to boot. And yet, the Pacers were just down 38-33 at the half.

In the third quarter, they turned it up and outscored the Heat 28-14 to head into the fourth with a 9-point cushion, but as expected, the Heat came storming back to take the lead late in the game. The Pacers would miss 4 of 6 free throws in the last 80 seconds (2 from Paul George, and 1 each from Hibbert and Hill) -- and yet they somehow still won the game when Mario Chalmers missed a three-pointer with only a second or two to spare.

So now, the Pacers head back to Indiana with the series tied. Chris Bosh is still out and will likely be out for the rest of the series. But somehow, it still doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence that the Pacers can win against this Heat team. We can't expect the Heat to play this bad, with or without Bosh, for the next 3 to 5 games, so unless the Pacers get their act together the outcome is not going to be any different to what everyone expected.

Too much going through my head so let's just use bullet points:

• D-Wade is a crybaby. First he whinges about a no-call against Dahntay Jones when Jones went straight up and Wade flopped to the floor. Then he makes a blatantly dirty play against Darren Collison -- shoulder charging him on the fast break, and then walking up to him as though he wanted to start something. Collison, to his credit, walked away and nailed the two flagrant free throws. And last, but not least, after the game he complains that the Pacers celebrated too much.

"I saw their little celebration at the end of the game. So I don't know if they didn't expect to win."

• By the way, it is unfathomable how Wade only got a flagrant 1 for his shove on Collison, when Jason Smith got a flagrant 2 (auto ejection) and a 2-game suspension for doing almost the exact same thing against Blake Griffin. And Collison didn't even have the ball when he got steamrolled.

• Speaking of dirty crybaby, did anyone see Lebron's Metta World Peace impersonation when he twice tried to elbow Danny Granger after Granger fouled him from behind? Granger (11 points, 5-14 shooting, fouled out) might never ever get close to being Lebron's (28 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 steals) equal in terms of ability or accomplishments, but you have to admire him for getting in the three-time MVP's face like that.

• Oh yeah, and Lebron bricked 2 free throws -- which would have given the Heat the lead -- with 54 seconds left.

• Is there any doubt now that David West is the most important player on the team? The Beast had 16 and 10, but it was his composure and maturity that enabled the Pacers to win this game. And thumbs up for shouting at his troops to stop celebrating and get off the court after the final buzzer because it was "just one game". Gotta love the dude.

• Paul George grew up in a lot in this game. In the first half he was getting absolutely raped by the refs, who not only called horrible fouls on him but didn't get him any calls at the other end when he kept getting hacked at the rim (to be fair to the Heat, Mario Chalmers got some bad calls against him too). George was also being outsmarted by Wade's pump fakes and flops, and it was clearly frustrating the young man. So kudos to PG for coming back strong, persisting, and finishing with 10 points, 11 rebounds and a huge block on Lebron.

• Roy Hibbert is not getting the ball enough and it's his own fault. The Pacers went to Hibbert immediately after tip off and he delivered the team's first 2 buckets. After that, he didn't do a whole lot, and it's really his own fault for not getting in good position and demanding the ball. Against this small Heat team he should be eating them up. So they were fronting him in the post -- so what? Demand that his teammates just throw it up there and let him do his thing. Sheesh.

• Barbosa proves once again that he can be the difference in this series. Sure he got blitzed on defense, but when Barbosa is on the floor he gives the Pacers their best isolation player. And in a series like this where every point is a premium, that can be the X factor. Barbosa only scored 8 points (felt like a lot more) but he was one of the main reasons the Pacers won the game.

That's all for now. It'll be annoying to see D-Wade getting no punishment for that hit on Collison (check out the videos below and tell me sueprstars don't get preferential treatment), and the Heat will probably catch fire next game and blow the Pacers off their home court, but for now, let's savor this victorious moment and remind the Heat that they are a bunch of whiny, classless, self-entitled floppers.

Jason Smith on Blake Griffin:

 Now D-Wade on Darren Collison:

 

Before the start of the Pacers-Heat series, I said the Pacers would need a key injury and a bit of luck in order to stand a chance of upsetting the Heat. Well, now they've gotten their key injury, with Chris Bosh sidelined indefinitely with an abdominal injury -- one that will probably rule him out of the remainder of the series.

Of course, losing Bosh isn't the same as say losing Lebron or D-Wade, but make no mistake, Bosh's absence undoubtedly gives the Pacers a better chance in this series. Talent-wise, the Heat still more than enough to handle the Pacers, but losing the 6'11" Bosh, a versatile power forward who can give the Pacers' big men trouble at both ends of the floor, will be particularly damaging to a Heat team that is already limited in size.

Roy Hibbert was often drawn out of the key by Bosh's mid-range game, and struggled to keep up with Bosh's speed off the dribble. Without Bosh, the Heat have to throw a combination of Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem and Ronny Turiaf at Hibbert, and none of these guys are over 6'10". If Hibbert doesn't take advantage of that, then the Pacers absolutely deserve to lose.

On the other hand, losing Bosh means we'll see a lot of Lebron at the four, which could be bad news. As we already know, Bosh sat out the entire second half of game one, and yet the Heat outscored the Pacers by 15. But I'm of the opinion that the sample was too small to take too much out of it. Over the course of the next few games, Bosh's absence will be felt, and it's up to the Pacers to utilize that to their advantage.

One other point: if Lebron is moved to the four, does that mean Granger won't have to guard him as much? If so, that could help Granger's offensive game. He's going to need all the help he can get too, considering he went 1-10 in game one.

Losing Bosh most probably won't be enough for the Pacers to overcome the Heat in this series. Their probability of winning probably went from something like 5% to about 15 or 20%, which makes it slightly more possible but still highly unlikely. The biggest beneficiary will probably be the teams the Heat play next after the Pacers (assuming they get through as expected), as Lebron and Wade will have to carry a much bigger load while Bosh is gone, and that will eat into their stamina in the later rounds. I'd like to think that if the Heat missed out on a title again this year, people will say that the Pacers had something to do with it.

The Pacers were facing an uphill battle right from the start, and yet they played valiantly, taking a 48-42 lead at the half against the heavily favored Heat team featuring three-time MVP Lebron James (who picked up his award before the game).

Even with that 6-point lead and an ab injury to Chis Bosh, I knew the Pacers were going to have a hard time winning game 1 because Lebron and Wade were going to get buckets down the stretch, whereas for the Pacers every point was going to be a struggle. I had hoped that the Pacers would turn in one of their trademark third quarters and blow the game wide open, giving them enough of a cushion in the fourth to withstand the inevitable Heat onslaught, but instead it was Miami that clawed their way back, tying the game at 70 apiece heading in the final 12 minutes.

I knew then game 1 was over, and sure enough, the Heat turned it into a 95-86 victory. Not an embarrassment by any means, but the Pacers have to know they probably just gave up their best chance of winning this series.

As a team, they didn't play particularly well. They got into foul trouble and allowed the Heat offense to get going in the second half. Hibbert had 17 and 11 and West had 17 and 12 on identical shooting numbers (6-12 FGs, 5-6 FTs), while Collison and Hill had 10 each.

The big story, of course, was Danny Granger's 7 points on 1-10 shooting. Everyone knew this was going to be a tough series for Granger because he was going up against Lebron. Apparently, after the game Vogel apologized for not getting Granger more involved in the offense. But he also said it was going to be hard for Granger to have a high scoring series because guarding Lebron for 38 minutes a game was going to take too much out of him.

I agree with both, and it's up to Granger to realize that he doesn't need to be the number one option on offense this series. Sometimes I still wonder whether he gets that he has better scoring options available on the team and that he doesn't have to chuck up some many shots. Games like these tend to affirm the view that he doesn't. On the other hand, for the Pacers to have a shot at winning, Granger does need to give the Pacers more points -- and that means picking his spots better, not forcing it like he has been. Granger has been just as culpable as his teammates in not making in the extra pass. The Pacers gave up a ton of open shots because guys were looking to get their own. And that's just not playing to one of the team's only advantages against the Heat -- depth.

The truth is, Vogel needs to take some flak for the way this game turned out. Despite all the film viewing sessions it still doesn't seem like he knows how to exploit mismatches and utilize the man with the hot hand. Everyone on the team needs to learn from the failures of game 1 and play better next time. It might not lead to a win, but at least we can say they did everything they could.

PS: Vogel's comments about the Heat flopping didn't do a whole lot of good (and yes, that includes the ludicrous $15,000 fine), with the Pacers sending the Heat to the line 38 times. David Stern said he would have fined Vogel more than the league office did, but then admitted that flopping was a "legitimate concern." Does that mean he is going to get fined as well?

 

Sometimes I wish the Pacers had finished with the fourth seed rather than the third. Despite being given an almost free pass in round one (no disrespect to the Magic, whose hard play is something the Pacers can certainly learn from this round), the Pacers are about to run into the juggernaught that is the Miami Heat. If they had finished fourth, sure, they might not have escaped the first around against the Hawks, but if they did, they would be facing the eight-seeded 76ers instead. But hey, I say bring of the Heat right now because it's time to see just how good this Pacers team is.

Let me break it down.

Season series

On paper, the Heat won the season series, 3-1, with relative ease, but you could make an argument that the Pacers got better as the series went on and that it should have been 2-2. Personally, I don't put much stock in what a series should have been -- a win is a win and a loss is a loss.

Nonetheless, for those who do care, the Pacers were blown out 118-83 in Miami in game 1 and the gap between the two teams was as wide as the score suggested. In game 2 back in Indiana, the Pacers were blown out again with a slightly more respectable 105-90 scoreline, though this one was over by about half time.

In game 3, the Pacers headed to Miami with renewed confidence and almost pulled out a win. They were on their way to a rare victory when Dahntay Jones has a brain freeze and the Heat came back to send the game into overtime, where D-Wade hit an impossible shot almost at the buzzer to win it for Miami, 93-91 (OT).

Game 4 was a different story. The Pacers came out strong against the Heat and returned the favor, earning a well-deserved 105-90 win in Indiana after blowing the game open in the third quarter.

So the Pacers lost by 35, lost by 15, lost by 2 in OT and won by 15. For those who haven't noticed, they've improved against the Heat each and every game. But of course, the regular season doesn't mean a whole lot right now, though it must be comforting for the Pacers to know that they are capable of beating this Heat team whether at home or away.

Hyping it up

The Pacers obviously don't get much attention or respect in the NBA. This ESPN article talking about how the Pacers offer no selling point says it all. Sadly, it's not all untrue.

Anyhoo, the Pacers have been doing their part to hype this series up. This Pacers team has shown that they love to talk, and throughout the season, coach Frank Vogel and guys like Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert have talked up their team like few others can in the league. Initially, I put it down to Vogel's motivational techniques and the team's false bravado -- but now I am starting to think that they truly believe in it, which is crucial if the Pacers want to have any chance in this series.

Here is some of the trash the Pacers have been talking before the start of the series.

1. Coach Vogel calling the Heat "the biggest floppers in the NBA." In a plea to the refs to make this an even series, Vogel explained: "Every drive to the basket, they have guys not making a play on the ball, but sliding in front of drivers. Oftentimes, they're falling down even before contact is even being made. It'll be interesting to see how the series is officiated."

2. Coach Vogel saying the teams are pretty evenly matched: "We are not viewing this in any way, shape or form like a David versus Goliath type of meeting." He said the Pacers "feel like we're one of the best teams in the league," and the series will be "two heavyweights going toe to toe."

3. Danny Granger saying the Pacers are not the underdogs. "I don't think we're underdogs by any means," he says. "Miami has more recognition with their Big Three guys, but I think we're a good team as well." Granger also said, "We actually have a better record than Miami does after the All-Star break."

4. George Hill saying it's not an upset if the Pacers win the series: "I don't feel like it's an upset if we win."

5. And this gem from Roy Hibbert, who will be the Pacers' biggest key in the series: "We didn't do it the easy way. It took time. We didn't do this by signing a couple of superstars."

In response, LeBron James simply said this: "I don't think they've given us too many problems, personally. We played some great ball against them. I think we gave them more problems than they gave us."

Matchups

The Pacers, like any other team in the NBA, are going to struggle against Miami's Big Three. The Pacers don't have the superstars of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the LA Lakers or even the New York Knicks. They don't have the relentless defensive intensity of the Chicago Bulls. They don't have the experience or the poise of the San Antonio Spurs. Whichever way you look at it, the Heat have to be heavy favorites simply because they have James, Wade and Bosh.

What they do have is a team with an above-average starting five comprising former All-Stars (David West, Danny Granger), a current borderline All-Star (Roy Hibbert), a potential future All-Star (Paul George) and a very solid starter who has played for one of the best organizations in the NBA (George Hill). They have a decent but sporadic bench -- speedy scorer Leandro Barbosa, speedy PG Darren Collison and super hustlers Tyler Hansbrough and Lou Amundson. If necessary, they've also got Dahntay Jones and AJ Price. It's a fairly even lineup that is physical and can be potent offensively when things are clicking, but can also be quite atrocious when the shots aren't falling.

On the other hand, the Heat faces a huge drop off on their roster after their Big Three. Not to say they don't have capable players -- Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier are all extremely capable -- but the Heat will go as far as the Big Three, and arguable, just LeBron, can take them.

The Big Three offers a lot of defensive issues for this Pacers team, who will have to find a way to play superb TEAM defense to slow them down. No one on the Pacers can guard the now three-time MVP LeBron James. He's too quick for David West, too big for Dahntay Jones, too strong for Paul George, and too much of everything for Danny Granger. None of them can really stop D-Wade either, who will probably be even more dangerous than LeBron in this series. And Bosh is too quick offensively for any of the Pacers' big guys, especially David West.

So for the Pacers to have any real chance, they'll need to play bigger and better than the sum of their parts, and perhaps be bestowed with a bit of luck here and there. Roy Hibbert is the key. The 7'2" big man towers over every Heat player, especially starting center Joel Anthony, who stands at just 6'9". For the Pacers to pull off the impossible, Hibbert needs to have the series of his career at both ends of the floor. He doesn't need to score 20-25 points a game, but he'll need to get enough touches to keep the Heat defense honest and spread the offense. He'll also need to protect the rim, because you know LeBron and Wade are going to be attacking all night. However, whether Hibbert will step up is another question. The big fella was supposed to tear up the Dwight Howard-less Magic in round one, but only averaged 11 points for the series. Sure, he also averaged 10.8 rebounds and 3.8 blocks, but 11 points is simply not going to be enough against the Heat.

Another guy who could be key is Darren Collison (coming off possibly his best game this year in the close out game against the Magic), who possesses the speed the Pacers need to disrupt Miami at both ends. Paul George, who had a disappointing first round, could be the X-factor if he steps up. Barbosa, who only played in one game in a Pacers uniform against the Heat (14 points in a 105-90 win), will be the key spark plug for the offense of the second unit.

Prediction

Game 1 is going to be key. If the Heat comes out firing and blasts the Pacers out of the building, which is actually not unlikely, then this could be a brutal 4 or 5 game series. That's how good I think this Heat team is and how much trouble they pose for this Pacers squad.

But if the Pacers come out with the same mentality they had against the Bulls last year -- ie, super physical, not backing down, protecting the paint, fighting for every loose ball and possession like the underdog they are -- then this could be a 6 or 7 game series, especially because guys like David West, George Hill and Leandro Barbosa have provided the Pacers with a certain mental toughness and stability that they lacked against the Bulls. And if the Pacers can steal a game in Miami (most likely game 1), then it's not beyond the realm of possibility that the Pacers could stun the world. We've seen Miami collapse before, and if the Pacers can rattle them early then you never know what might happen.

However, the truth is, the Heat are title favorites for a reason and too much has to go right for the Pacers (and too much has to go wrong for the Heat) before we can legitimately talk upset. I'm already very proud of how the Pacers have come this season, and all I can hope for is that they put in an effort that doesn't let down their fans. My guess is that the Pacers will give it all they've got, but in the end the Heat are going to be too strong and too determined. Barring a series-changing injury, I see the Heat pulling it out in 6 games.