The Pacers look to avoid a tenth consecutive playoff loss tonight against the Heat in Orlando, FL. Portland had a 10-game losing streak going into last postseason, where they took it all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
It does not seem that they will have much of a chance today, given their struggles throughout the series. The loss of Domantas Sabonis has been just way too much to overcome. Him being out of the lineup has forced them to switch absolutely everything.
Miami is looking perfect on both ends of the floor, with stars at seemingly every position. They are doing all of this with Kendrick Nunn off the court for unknown reasons. Dragic came off the bench all year, but now as a starter, he is thriving.
Jimmy Butler has stepped up as a leader, with his other All-Star teammate Bam Adebayo, who has played like a dominant big man. The two of them headline a very talented bunch.
ODDS:
The spread for tonight’s potential series finale is MIA -6.5. The over/under is set at 216.5.
Indiana Tries to Stay Alive
Technically the higher seed in this matchup, Indiana, went 0-2 in their “home” games and dropped their first on the road. TJ Warren has not been the same player against Miami, as his regular-season effort has not been matched in the next level of games. They will need him to step his game up.
Malcolm Brogdon is coming off one of the best games of his career, but unfortunately, it happened in a loss. They will need him to bring that energy again if they truly want to have a shot.
Victor Oladipo is going to have to keep his effort up. He played well last game but didn’t do enough to lift them to a win.
Myles Turner is going to need to do more scoring. He has been invisible on the offensive end.
Miami Tries to End Things
The Heat need to win today, and their matchup with the winner of MIL/ORL awaits. There have already been two sweeps in the East, with only the Magic able to take a game and then lose one. They would have their hands full with the Bucks, but a win would not be impossible.
The most dangerous thing about this team is the changing of rotations, and several players can get hot. Tyler Herro, Dragic, Jimmy, Duncan Robinson, the list goes on. They can burn a team with all of these guys, so it’s hard to focus on any one player.
This Heat team is no joke and one that needs to be taken seriously. We’ll see if they can close things out, or if it will take a fifth game to do so.
Miami Puts Indiana to Rest
A fifth-straight first-round exit for the Pacers. Yikes. Miami gets the job done.
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