The Miami Heat left home ruing their missed opportunity to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series when they let the Indiana Pacerssteal Game 2 late. The Pacers made that win stand up by backing it up with a dominant Game 3 victory in their home arena.
In a bid to adjust to the absence of Chris Bosh, Erick Spoelstrastarted young forward Dexter Pittman at the center position and started Shane Battier at the power forward. This allowed LeBron James to return to his more natural position as a small forward.
The move did not pay off, as Pittman missed two early shots against Roy Hibbert and the Indiana Pacers took advantage on offense, getting off to a 9-2 start. The Heat rebounded in a big way, making 10 straight shots to take a 26-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Mario Chalmers was huge for the Miami Heat by successfully navigating his way to the hoop. Unfortunately, too many of his teammates did not follow suit. Shane Battier shot 0-7 and LeBron James cooled off significantly from a strong 7-13 first half performance. However, the main story is Dwyane Wade's continued shooting struggles, finishing 2-13 on Thursday.
Wade's inability to finish from the field is quickly becoming a big concern for the Heat. In the first two games of the series, Wade was able to make up for some of his misses by getting to the free throw line consistently. In Game 3, he attempted only two free throws. Last night, his frustrations eventually boiled over into a verbal outburst against Spoelstra during a huddle which required his teammates to physically separate the pair.
The Pacers will not go away quietly, and they have rallied around their coach Frank Vogel's commitment to teamwork and rebounding, and their fans showed their support in impressive fashion. The onus is on the Heat to reclaim control of the series, and with the extra off day, maybe they'll be able to figure out a new strategy by Sunday afternoon.
Philip is a lifelong NBA fan and has followed the Miami Heat closely since The Decision.
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