For the past few seasons, the NBA’s Eastern Conference had been drawn to the attention of two teams: the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers. After matching up in the past two Eastern Conference Finals, NBA fans were prepared for these two teams to control the East for the foreseeable future.
The Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat are still here to play
After LeBron James’s departure and Paul George’s gruesome leg injury left a lot of questions up in the air for the Eastern Conference for the 2014-2015 season. Attention turned to the Cavaliers, James’s new team, and the emergence of the Hawks, Wizards and Raptors as the top teams in the East. Everyone forgot about the Heat and the Pacers…except the Heat and Pacers. Now, months later, these two teams would like to remind you that yes, they’re still playing basketball, and yes, they’re still kicking ass.
It might look underwhelming (it’s the Eastern Conference so to be honest, how could it not?) because they’re sitting at the bottom of the playoff picture, but the Heat and Pacers are in a pretty good situation. No talking head or “NBA expert” could say they saw the Pacers and Heat succeed in any manner this season, let alone the way they are now. As the playoffs begin, both of these teams are putting themselves in positions to make some noise against the best in the East.
The Heat – Let’s Keep Playing
It could have been easy for the Heat to take this season off and rebuild as they recovered from the Decision Part 2, but they didn’t. Their season has had its ups and downs but they have persevered and are currently sitting in the playoff picture.
Their current sub-.500 record notwithstanding, Miami has proven they have what it takes to stand up to the best teams in the NBA. They’ve beaten all the teams they were supposed to and competed with the best night in and night out. Their acquisition of Goran Dragic, possibly the steal of the trade deadline, proves their commitment to reloading instead of retooling. The emergence of Hassan Whiteside and their bench has Erik Spoelstra and company planning for much longer than the coming months.
While the loss of Chris Bosh hurts, this is a team that does not give up easily. Their resiliency is something that has been shown time and again this season, and a first-round matchup with a top Eastern foe could be where we find out what the Heat are really made of.
The Pacers – We’re Still Playing
The Pacers were written off once after Lance Stephenson’s departure, and then once again after Paul George went down this past summer. They had a shaky start to the season but over the past few months, NO team in the NBA has been hotter than the Pacers. Winners seven in a row, thirteen of their last fifteen games and undefeated in the month of March, the Pacers sit at seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 30-34 record that is no indication of what this team is capable of.
With the third-best defense in the NBA, Indiana’s mantra has always been centered on a defensive-minded team with an offense by committee, and this year’s squad is no exception. The Pacers are getting contributions from everyone who gets major minutes, and the return of George Hill has bolstered the fluidity of an otherwise stagnant offense. Hill’s return, coupled with Paul George’s potential return as well, has plenty of Pacers fans hoping that this team can use their size (they still have David West and Roy Hibbert, remember?) and their defense to turn some heads come playoff time. As of now they match up with the Cavaliers in the first round, and the Pacers are probably chomping at the bit for another piece of a LeBron-led team.
Only time will tell if this is more than just a mirage for either team. For the time being, these two teams are hotter than anyone else in the League, and the Eastern Conference is better for it.
