Eastern Conference Game 2 Preview

The Three Things To Look For Tonight

1. Can Miami get off to a fast start and take a decent lead into halftime?  Miami needs to ditch this bad habit of starting off games slowly and letting teams hang around until the fourth quarter.  Getting a lead early would be big for giving Wade and the rest of the old legs some minutes to rest on the bench, and would put them in a good position for Games 3 and 4 in Indianapolis.  We have yet to see the best of this squad in the playoffs, and the last thing this team needs is a loss or another overtime game before hitting the road.  If Miami can get out to an early lead, odds are that they aren't letting go of it.  If they let Indiana hang around, we very might well see a tied series heading into Game 3. 
2. Will George Hill and Lance Stephenson bounce back from horrible Game 1 offensive performances?  The two starting guards for Indiana were both awful on Wednesday night, and yet the Pacers nearly stole Game 1.  Combined, the two were 4-19 from the field, and 0-7 from three-point land.  That simply isn't going to cut it.  Hill and Stephenson need to shoot the ball better tonight to take some of the load off the backs of West, Hibbert, and George.  If Indiana wants to have any chance of taking this series back to Indiana tied at 1-1, they need their two starting guards to step up tonight.
3. How big of a performance will we see from Roy Hibbert tonight, given his absence from the final play in Game 1?  The only thing that I see as a certainty tonight is that Roy Hibbert will put up big numbers.  Hibbert was no slouch on Wednesday night, as the big fella put up 19 points and 9 boards in 41 minutes.  Expect him to come out fired up tonight after his omission from the final play of Game 1, and don't be surprised when you check the box score after the game and see a double-double with 20+ points.  

Bonus Tidbit: I think Miami realizes the importance of taking a 2-0 lead to Indiana, and starts the game off strong.  This might be a good time to make a 1H play on the Heat, given the circumstances.