Beast of the East

With the start of the 2013-14 NBA season in full effect, one of the main storylines to keep an eye on is who if anybody can dethrone the Miami Heat out east. Since LeBron James made his highly criticized 'Decision' to take his talents to South Beach and join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in the Summer of 2010, Miami has had little competition in the Eastern Conference having made three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals, winning the last two. But last season saw the Heat meet their toughest match yet in the Eastern Conference Finals as the Indiana Pacers gave LeBron and company a run for their money. And though Miami eventually won the thrilling best-of-seven series in a lopsided game 7, the Pacers showed to the rest of the league that the Heat could in fact be beaten. And had it not been for a coaching blunder by Pacers head coach Frank Vogel in game 1 when he chose to sit his best defender in Roy Hibbert who's absence in the paint proved to be costly, allowing LeBron James to drive through the lane for the game-winning lay-up, we could very well be looking at a different NBA champion. 

But enough with all the ifs and buts, the fact remains that last year the Indiana Pacers came within one win of upsetting the defending world champion Miami Heat, something they plan on accomplishing this season if given a second chance. Proving that last season was no fluke, the Pacers who finished last season with an overall record of 49-32, are off to their best start in franchise history having won all 8 of their games this year, standing tall as the league's last and only unbeaten team. Allowing a league-low to opponents in both points per game and field goal shooting percentage, Indiana once again poses the biggest threat to LeBron James and the Miami Heat's chances of making it a three-peat. And with one of their best players in Danny Granger expected back sometime in the near future, the Pacers could get even better. But depending on what role coach Vogel decides to use his All-Star forward in, the wrong move could cost his team in the long run. The absence of Granger who led the Pacers in scoring in each season from 2007-08 to 2011-12 before missing all but the first five games last year due to a knee injury, allowed Paul George to breakout and rise to stardom while being named to his first All-Star team and taking home the NBA's Most Improved Player honors. 

Another player who's benefited from Granger's absence is Lance Stephenson who took over the starting role and is off to the best start of his career this season. So plugging Granger back into the starting lineup might not be the easiest thing to do for coach Vogel, nor would it be the smartest. At least not yet. Having Granger come off the bench could give the Pacers a jolt both offensively and defensively as he plans to get back onto the court for the first time since straining his left calf almost a month ago. A limited role would allow him to get back into the gist of things physically without disrupting what the Pacers currently have going with their starting lineup. After all, if it ain't broken don't fix it, right? But back to Indiana's biggest concern -- the Miami Heat. The Pacers are the one team in the east that can match up best with Miami on both sides of the ball while teams like Chicago and New York lack the depth and physicality that Indiana possesses. As for Brooklyn, another team likely to make the playoffs, let's just see if their old, fragile lineup can make it to season's end in one piece.

The Pacers are also one of the deeper teams in the league after adding depth in the offseason by acquiring power forward Luis Scola from the Phoenix Suns via trade. All of this coupled with Indiana's stellar play could help the Pacers who are coming off their first Central Division title since 2004, get over the hump and surpass the Miami Heat for Eastern Conference supremacy. Locking up home-court advantage would definitely increase Indiana's chances in doing so as we all witnessed just how important playing at home was last year when the Heat held off the Pacers in Miami in the decisive game 7.


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