The NBA announced that it will review a number of plays from game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat. The one that has caught the attention of...everyone...is D-Wade's flying elbow to the head of Lance Stephenson.

So Wade runs down the lane on a transition play, possibly looking at ball carrier Paul George on the right wing. Lance Stephenson tries to provide a bit of an obstruction by pedaling into Wade's path. Wade leaps into the air, throws his right forearm into Stephenson's temple. Stephenson crumbles. He gets up, and after play is halted on a reach in foul, he doubles over.

Given Wade's history of "dirty", or at least reckless plays, you have to wonder whether it was intentional. The TNT guys -- Reggie Miller in particular -- didn't see anything malicious. Maybe not, but it certainly was reckless. Why did he jump into the air? Was he trying to jump out of the way, only to realize Stephenson was heading in the same direction? Was he even looking at Stephenson when the elbow happened? Or was there no way he could have not known that Stephenson was right there? These will be the things the NBA will look at.

It's probably the only play being reviewed with suspension potential. They will also be looking at the extended elbow David West gave Mario Chalmers's arm on a screen, but I doubt anything more than a fine (if anything) will come out of that.

But chances are, Wade will get to play in game 3. Remember when Wade dangerously bulldozed Darren Collison last year and didn't get suspended? That's probably what will happen here. It will be difficult to establish intent, so my guess is they will issue a retrospective flagrant one and be done with it.

Looking ahead, this series will only get tougher for the Pacers. Remember last year when they were up 2-1 and everyone wrote off the Heat, only to be embarrassed when LeBron and Wade turned it up a notch and the Pacers couldn't even come close to stopping them? That could happen again this year, though to be fair, this Pacers team appears much more resilient this time around.

The problem is, as much as Wade is struggling with his knees or fitness or form, you have to wonder whether he has another explosive couple of games left in him like last year. As much as LeBron has dominated, he's been doing it without forcing things too much, and you have to wonder when he will say, "Stuff it," and just start annihilating everyone in his way. Not to mention guys like Ray Allen and Shane Battier, who have so far been virtually non-existent out there. Those guys should have at least one good game in them this series.

On the other hand, I've had that sinking feeling throughout the first two games. I kept thinking the Heat would wear the Pacers down and eventually break the game wide open, but the Pacers have managed to withstand the waves of onslaughts and keep the games close down to the final possessions. It remains to be seen if they can keep doing this as the series gets tighter and the margin for error gets even slimmer.

The Indiana Pacers pulled out a 97-93 victory over the Miami Heat in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, stealing home court advantage from the defending champs and heading home with a 1-1 split in this 7-game series. Like game 1, the Pacers were up in the dying seconds, but this time they held on for the victory, courtesy of two Lebron James turnovers -- both coming off the outstretched 7'4" wingspan of David West, who also gave the Pacers the go-ahead basket before George Hill closed it out with 4 mega clitch free throws (he had been 0-3 from the line up to that point).

It was another team effort. Roy Hibbert was dominant, scoring a career playoff high 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, including 6 on the offensive end. The Pacers got creative in getting the big fella the ball, with many entry passes coming as Hibbert was cutting into the lane rather than isolation post plays.

Paul George was spectacular with 22 points and the dunk of the playoffs, posterizing Chris Andersen with a sick and-one slam just before the end of the third quarter (not to be outdone, LeBron comes back and hits a 35-foot three-pointer at the buzzer).

George Hill was clutch late and shot 6-8 from the field. West and Lance Stephenson had relatively poor games (Stephenson in particular was out of control on a couple of occasions), but both contributed on the box score and made huge plays down the stretch. Stephenson got clubbered by a Dwyane Wade flying elbow on the fast break and there wasn't even a foul call. Inadvertent or reckless or intentional, it will be interesting to see if league officials review it and whether they issue a punishment for Wade. My guess is he won't get suspended because he is D-Wade. Last year's  shove on Darren Collison didn't get him tossed, so I doubt he will for this. Because he's D-Wade. Stephenson is one tough cookie though, Remember the elbow he got to the neck from Dexter Pittman? 

No matter what happens from here on, no one can deny that these Indiana Pacers are really really good. Maybe not as good as the defending champs, but it's clear that they are legitimate title contenders. And just because the Heat probably have the better team and definitely have the best player on the planet, it doesn't mean the Pacers can't win this series. As we have seen through two games, this is going to be a tight series and a bounce here or there can swing things around dramatically. With a bit (OK, a lot of) luck, the Pacers can beat the Heat. Even if they can't, just getting people to wonder if they can is already better than what most people expected out of them.

What should be clear is that this year's Pacers team is better than last year's, even without Danny Granger. Roy Hibbert has picked the right time to become as good as he's ever been. David West is healthier, fitter and more familiar with his teammates, as is George Hill, who has continued to develop into a very solid starting point guard in this league. And of course, Paul George and Lance Stephenson's development (thanks to Granger's absence) has been astronomical. Oh, and Frank Vogel is a more experienced coach too.

Pacers fans ought to be excited because this team is only starting to scratch the surface of its full potential. Paul George, if he isn't one already, will become one of the superstars of this league. I am confident theAll-NBA Third Team 23 year old will work on his offensive game during this offseason and become a beast at both ends of the floor next season. Hibbert, Hill and Stephenson are all still young and will all keep improving. And Danny Granger could be back next year or be converted into some valuable bench assets. The future is bright no matter how this series turns out.

Besides, you never know --  winning it all this year is not out of question yet.

The initial reaction is of course one of disappointment, bitterness, and maybe even anger. After all, the Indiana Pacers just about had the game won, but LeBron James, being the MVP, superstar, one of the GOATs that he is, blew by Paul George for a game-winning layup at the buzzer. And so game 1 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals ended in an 103-102 OT thriller in Miami.

People are questioning whether coach Frank Vogel blew it. Towards the end of regulation, Vogel took out 7'2" Roy Hibbert because he was worried about Chris Bosh's speed and mid-range jumper. The Pacers ended up getting George Hill switched on James, and James overpowered him for an easy layup. Vogel made the decision to take Hibbert out again on the final possession of the game, and Paul George overplayed James on the inbounds pass, allowing the MVP to get a first step on him. And that was all he needed.

Was it Vogel's fault the Pacers lost this one? It's easy to say now that he made the wrong decision in taking out whom he calls the "best rim defender in the game" because James finished with a layup at the rim. But what if he kept Hibbert in and Bosh won it with an open jumper? Hindsight is always 20-20. That said, it probably would sting less had it been Bosh rather than James who took that last shot.

It's also easy to get on Paul George's back because he failed to stay in front of LeBron on that final play. The idea was to make the King take a contested jumper, but 2.2 seconds was way too much time, and Lebron only needs one dribble to get all the way the cup. But if George hadn't hit that 32-foot three-pointer at the end of regulation the Pacers wouldn't even have gotten into overtime in the first place. If he hadn't drawn a foul on D-Wade and hit three crunch time free throws on the second-to-last possession, the Pacers wouldn't even have had the lead.

Sure, LeBron had a triple-double with 32-10-10, but he worked so hard for it because PG24 went toe-to-toe with him all night. For his part, George finished with 27 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Most impressively, after struggling mightily from the foul line last series against the Knicks (he was 3-9 in game 6), George finished 10-11 from the charity stripe. That's the sign of a superstar right there, and people often forget he's only a third-year player who just turned 23.

In the aftermath, people have been quick to jump to the conclusion that the Pacers won't have another chance like this in the series. The Heat had 20 turnovers! They won't have that again, they say. But hey, Pacers had 20 turnovers too. And what are the odds of Chris Andersen shooting 7-7 from the field again?

Was this the Pacers' best chance to get a win on the Heat's home floor? Perhaps. But the Pacers lost game 1 last year as well and came back to snatch game 2, so I wouldn't count them out just yet. Before the series began, I noted how important it was for the Pacers to perform well in the keys to the series in order to have a chance to prevail.

The first of those was to dominate the boards, and they didn't get that done. They won the overall rebound battle 43-38, but the Pacers allowed 16 offensive boards, allowing Miami to get to many of the 50-50 balls, especially down the stretch. The Pacers simply have to do a better job boxing out and rebounding.

Secondly, I said the Pacers have to limit their turnovers, and they didn't get that done either. They should be aiming for 10-15, but tonight they had 20. They've struggled protecting the ball all season and it will be hard to keep them down in the face of Miami's suffocating traps, but if they want to win a chance to win the series they have to take better care of the ball.

I also said the Pacers need to stay out of foul trouble. They were somewhat successful in that respect tonight, with only David West missing a portion of the first half because of foul trouble. Still, all five starters had at least 4 fouls, with Roy Hibbert on the edge with 5.

Free throw shooting was another area. The Pacers hit a respectable 24-32 from the line (75%), but realistically they need to shoot 80% or better. In a series where every point counts they cannot afford to cough up those free points.

The Pacers bench, which is usually horrible, turned out to be OK in the end, mainly because of the spark Tyler Hansbrough brought to the team. Psycho-T had 10 points and 6 rebounds in 12 minutes, while DJ Augustin had 8 points in 15 minutes. To be honest, that's about all you can ask of this Pacers bench, and I would be ecstatic if they got that kind of production every night.

So yes, the Pacers did some things right but also a lot of other things wrong. Instead of feeling like they blew the only chance they had, the Pacers should feel very confident about getting so close to stealing one in Miami. This was one of those games where I kept expecting Miami to turn it up to another gear and break the game wide open, but it showed how much I was underestimating this Pacers team -- like everyone else. Instead of folding, the Pacers buckled down and withstood wave after wave of attack and were right there until the end. I had doubted they had that much resilience in them. I won't make that mistake again.

I waited a couple of days for the dust to settle after that New York series to ponder whether the Indiana Pacers have a leigitmate shot at upsetting the defending NBA champs Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals this year. I have not yet seen a single expert daring to pick the Pacers in this 7-game series, but to the Pacers' credit, there are no predictions for sweeps either. It's going to be 5, 6 or 7 games, but the victor, in the end, will no doubt be Miami. Or so we are led to believe.

The majority of "experts" also picked the Knicks to beat the Pacers, and but for a New York-like scoring binge in game 2 and a George Hill concussion in game 5, it actually turned out to be a rather one-sided series in favor of the Pacers.

This is not the same team that struggled to finish the year and the one that looked very vulnerable in the first few games of the first round against the Atlanta Hawks. These Pacers appear locked in, and while their offense still comes and goes, that world-class defense they are famous for is back -- and it will be needed if the Pacers are going to have a chance.

The truth is, Miami is favored for a big reason, and his name is LeBron James. Paul George could be the best wing defender in the world, but the best he could hope to do in this series is to relatively "contain" Lebron with a lot of help from his teammates, especially by funneling James into the best rim defender in the game, Roy Hibbert. But as long as LeBron is on the court, the odds of the Pacers advancing are slim.

The way I see it, if the Pacers are going to win the series, they will need a lot of things to go right for them and some things to go wrong for the Heat. The margin of error will be as thin as a piece of paper.

First of all, the Pacers will need to dominate the boards, especially on the offensive end. This Pacers team misses a lot of shots, and those second chance points will be key to the series. Reducing the Heat's second chance points will also be huge. The Heat are seriously undersized and if the Pacers can bully them under the ring it will give them a much better chance to succeed in this series.

Second, turnovers will need to be kept to a minimum. The Pacers are notorious for finding creative ways to give away the ball, and the Heat are just about unstoppable when they get their transition and fast break game going. If the Pacers don't take care of the ball this series could get ugly in a hurry. If George Hill does not continue to feel the effects of that concussion it will definitely help, but the whole team needs to protect the ball at all times.

Third, the Pacers starters will need to stay out of foul trouble. This will be a huge factor for the Pacers. If Paul George gets in early foul trouble, the Pacers will have to call upon Sam Young to guard LeBron. That sentence speaks for itself. If Roy Hibbert gets in early foul trouble, there is still Ian Mahinmi, a poor-man's version of Hibbert, but if Mahinmi gets in foul trouble it's pretty much over for the Pacers. Staying on the floor might be the biggest key for this Pacers team.

Fourth, free throw shooting. The Pacers have had some shocking free throw shooting games recently, and the biggest culprit has been Paul George, one of the team's supposed closers. George has not shot well from the floor, but that could be because he's expending all his energy on defense. But games where he is shooting 1-3, 4-7, 5-8 and 3-9 from the line are not going to cut it (that's actual numbers from 4 of his last 5 games). To be successful, the Pacers need to shoot close to 80% from the line for the series -- at least. No more 19-33 free throw shooting nights (like in game 5 against the Knicks). Points won't come easily against the Heat, so free points should never be wasted.

Fifth, Roy Hibbert and David West will need to have a big offensive series. Paul George will have his hands full on defense with LeBron. If he can score as well, great, but that's not his primary objective. George Hill might have a great shooting night or two (like the 26 points he put up in game 4 against the Knicks), but he's not going to do it on a nightly basis. Lance Stephenson showed what he could do in closing out the Knicks in game 6, but for all we know right now he might never have another game like that in his life. So that leaves David West, who averaged 22.7 against the Heat in 3 games this season, to shoulder the offensive output. I mention Hibbert as well because the Heat have no one on their roster over 6'11 (and that's Chris Bosh, not exactly a bruising post defender), and only 3 guys 6'10" and over (the others bring Chris Andersen and Rashard Lewis). Hibbert SHOULD be able to score against this Miami defense. He did for a while in last year's series but Miami adjusted well to shut him down in the final 3 games. He'll have to put up some points this year too.

Sixth, the bench will need to not suck so bad. They don't have to be great. They don't have to be good. They just need to not suck. The Pacers starters will hold their own against any team, but whenever they shift to the bench I start to get nervous. DJ Augustin just needs to hit his open threes. Tyler Hansbrough just needs to be effective with his hustle plays and get under the Heat's skin. Ian Mahinmi just needs to rebound and protect the rim. Sam Young just needs to provide a few minutes of solid D. That's it.

Dywane Wade's injury woes will also be key. He didn't look so great against the Bulls, but he didn't need to be, which is scary. I still have nightmares on some of the insane shots Wade hit in last year's series. If can return to that kind of form it's good night for the Pacers. But if he's a shadow of his former self that will really allow the Pacers to focus more of their energy on LeBron.

So yeah, that's a long list of things that have to go right for the Pacers for them to win this series. It's probably going to be Miami in 5 or 6, but I'm hoping the Pacers can push them to 7.

They're back, baby! The Indiana Pacers broke free of my jinx for the second straight round by beating the New York Knicks 106-99 tonight, finishing off the series in 6 games and heading into the Conference Finals against the Miami Heat. Yes, for the first time ever, I have correctly predicted two Pacers series in a row (I said Pacers over Hawks in 6 as well).

After a disgusting game 5 in which both teams played as ugly as flies circling a turd, game 6 turned out to be a ripper. The Pacers stuck to their guns and kept forcing the ball inside, trying to draw fouls and getting the Knicks front line in foul trouble, which they succeeded in doing (Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin both fouled out, as did Iman Shumpert).

The Knicks, on the other hand, went to Carmelo Anthony early and often, and he answered with 39 points on 15-29 shooting. New York also caught fire from downtown in the second half, hitting what felt like 20 three-pointers in a row to give the Knicks the lead after falling behind by double-digits early in the third quarter. The Knicks lived and died by the three all season, and for a while tonight it appeared as though those threes would help them live to see another game.

This was great playoff basketball. Physical, tense, and every possession counting. The Pacers looked like they were on their way to a grind-'em-out double-digit win until the Knicks went on that insane three-point barrage. Then it looked like the game was the Knicks to lose, but the young Pacers dug deep, and as coach Frank Vogel told them to do, embraced the challenge.

In the first 5 games of this series, the Pacers usually have one guy that steps up and carries the team in their victories (David West in game 1, Roy Hibbert in game 3, George Hill in game 4). Tonight, it was an all-round effort, but two guys in particular stood out.

First of all, Roy Hibbert, who had 21 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks. He was a thorn in the Knicks' side and thoroughly outplayed Tyson Chandler all series. His offense was there tonight but it was his usual magnificent rim defense and hustle that won the game for the Pacers. Hibbert had the play of the game tonight when he stuffed Carmelo Anthony on a one-handed dunk -- that was 100% all ball -- with the Knicks up 92-90 and less than 5 minutes to go in the game. The momentum clearly shifted on that play and the Pacers were able to steady the ship and deliver the knockout blow.

Speaking of knockout blows, the man who delivered it tonight was Lance Stephenson. I thought he would prove that he was "Born Ready" in game 5 with George Hill out, but tonight was really his coming out party. Stephenson razzled and dazzled and powered his way to a team-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, with all of his 9 field goals coming near or right at the rim. Seeing him in the open court was spectacular, and the old Knick guards had no answer for his explosiveness and tenacity. Stephenson scored 9 of the Pacers' next 11 points after Hibbert's block on Anthony, giving the Pacers a 7 point lead they would refuse to relinquish.

The Knicks also had some pretty boneheaded plays down the stretch that contributed to their elimination. They were still in the game with a minute to go (down 4 points) but Shumpert allowed the Pacers to waste 10 seconds off the clock before committing a silly reach in foul against George Hill.

After Hill makes the free throws to give the Pacers a 6-point lead, Chris Copeland misses a three, but the Knicks would allow around 16 seconds to elapse on the clock before fouling Paul George. By that time there was only 9 seconds left on the game clock. Seriously -- you are down by 6 points with 25 seconds to go and the other team has the ball. How hard is it to realize that you must foul as soon as you can't get an immediate steal?

Paul George, who had 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, missed both free throws (he was just 3-9 from the line tonight and must work on his free throws before facing Miami), but the Knicks allowed Sam Young to sneak in to grab the offensive rebound. Game over.

As I said, it was a team effort with a couple of standout performances. David "The Rock" West was solid with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and carried the team early in the second half to open up that double-digit lead, and while George Hill struggled coming back from a concussion (he couldn't hit many open shots tonight, going 2-10 including 1-6 from three), he was a steadying influence on the ball (Pacers had only 9 turnovers, which is HUGE for them) and knocked down all 7 of his free throws, including a couple of big ones to effectively ice the game.

The Pacers bench was, as usual, not great -- Tyler Hansbrough was gross, but the four bench guys only played a combined 37 minutes, so they didn't really get much of a chance to stuff things up too much.

Anyway, the Pacers are finally back in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 9 years, and they will be heavy underdogs against the defending champions Miami Heat. If you had asked me before the Knicks series I would have said the Heat in 5...6 at the very most, but this Pacers team has shown a special resiliency and fearlessness that I think could go a long way.

I'll hold off my prediction for now, but if Dwyane Wade continues to be a shadow of his former self with knee problems, Roy Hibbert dominates the small Miami front court and Paul George plays great defense on Lebron...then who knows?