<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">South Beach or the French Quarter? Zydeco or Salsa? Cajun cookin’ or Cuban cuisine? Those are some of the superfluous questions facing the Indiana Pacers as they wait to see whom they will face in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, but all those questions boil down to a more direct one: Miami or New Orleans? <font face="arial narrow"><font size="2">O'Neal</font></font> “We don’t care who we play,” answered <u><font color="#0000ff">Jermaine O’Neal</font></u>. “If it’s Miami, that’s great because they have great weather. And New Orleans has got good cooking. You can take a plus from either one. But as far as basketball, we don’t care who we play.” A four-game sweep of Boston in their opening round has given the Pacers plenty of time to consider the issue – as well as most others. Their second-round series against the Miami-New Orleans winner will start no sooner than May 3 and could start as late as May 6. The fifth-seeded Hornets tied that series at 2-2 Tuesday night as each team held serve on its own home court through the series' first four games. That series will extend to at least a Game 6, to be played Sunday (May 2) in New Orleans. If needed, Game 7 would be Tuesday (May 4) in Miami. If the Pacers were particularly drained or in need of recovery time due to injuries, long break might be more welcome. But, with the return of <u><font color="#0000ff">Jonathan Bender</font></u>at full strength and the aches and pains of O’Neal’s sore knee subsided, the team is as healthy as it has been all season. So, now the Pacers play the waiting game, choosing not to speculate on their next opponent and offering no preference as to who that may be. </div> http://http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/roun...nce_040428.html I think New Orleans poses the biggest threat to Indiana. They have an allstar point guard and the front court depth to really give the Pacers problems. Miami is a pretender in all of this IMO. Even IF they make it past New Orleans there is no way they can match up with Indiana. It would be like the Boston series all over again. JO would tear up Lamar Odom and Artest would lock down Dwayne Wade and Eddie Jones. I can see Miami maybe trying to draw JO out with Odom's perimetre abilities but overall Indiana would crush them. What's everyone else's thoughts on this?
Actually Miami would give the Pacers more problems purely because of their quick backcourt and abilty to not only get out and run but getting to the basket. Either way Tinsley will have his hands full with either Davis or Wade but It is the fact Lamar Odom is a guy who could be impossible to guard..He would be too quick for Jeff Foster and he's not a guy who Jermaine could guard as Lamar often can get you in foul trouble, Eddie Jones is a vet who has always had the abilty to stroke the ball from deep, It will also be a tough decision for Carisle for who Artest guards, there are many choices as many of the guys he can guard are dangerous. New Orleans would be an easier match-up, they still aren't heathly no matter what they tell you. Baron is still not 100% and often has problems playing consistant amount of games. Either way Indiana should beat either in 5 or at worse 6 games.
I agree that their guards can run the court and cause some major problems for Indiana. The one weakness that Indiana has is its lack of talented guards (I consider Artest to be a foward) and that is what Miami has an abundance of. If they can negate their guards from penetrating the lane (JO's job) they will have full control of the paint on the offensive end and defensive end. In the playoffs control of the paint means everything. You said that Lamar Odom would be unguardable and the same can be said for JO. The playoffs is all about establishing yourself inside and that is what JO is all about. He will dominate them like he dominated Boston because there is absolutely no one that can match up with him on both ends. Odom's shot has to fall consistently to be regarded as a outside threat. I can't see that happening because he is shooting 42% from the field and 20% from downtown in the playoffs. Sure he can penetrate the lane but JO will be right there waiting for him. Regardless of individual matchups New Orleans and Miami do not have a good chance at beating Indiana in a series. They just don't have the players and system to stop them.
I think if Indiana draws Miami, they'd be better off moving JO to center and starting Al Harrington alongside Artest. This allows the defense to stay in front of Miami's quick players more easily, and with JO matched up against Grant he's less likely to get into foul trouble. It's also more practical for Artest or Harrington to guard Odom on the perimeter as opposed to Jermaine doing it. Against New Orleans I would strongly consider putting Artest on Baron Davis. The Hornets don't really have scoring forwards so I think Artest's presence on the defensive end wouldn't be put to good use with him on Lynch or Augmon. Force Magloire and their roleplayers to beat you.
Either way, I don't see the series going past 5 games too. But I rather see Miami play against them just because I like to watch Miami more from a viewers stand point. New Orleans still isn't healthy that has already been put out there so I think they would get swept too. I see Miami taking at least 1 game because of the play of Odom/Wade/ and Jones doing a decent job against the Pacers.
I think both teams are more or less the same...Miami is more athletic, while NO has more experience...both play physical and hard on defense, although Miami is more consistent on offense than NO is...either way, Indiana will have no problem with either club
Definitely Miami. They're a more complete team right now, and although J'O'neal is better than Lamar Odom, I think he'll still have a hard time with him, Lamar Odom is killer. I think even Brian Grant would get slaughtered by the Pacers though. As far as Eddie Jones and Dwayne Wade go, Artest would have his hands full having to take care of two truly established scorers. But he'd still lock them down, had it been one on one. Rafer will make things happen but of course, Indiana will take it. I think Miami has a chance for at least one or two games. To win that is.
I gotta give it to Miami. They came from a super junk start and worked their way all the way up to number 4. It really aint all that hard to work your way up in the east but I give Miami props for comin together as a team and really blending. If Miami challenges Indiana, I predict Indiana takin it in five or six but Miami still givin them a run for their money.
I believe that Miami would be more of a threat to the Pacers. Eddie Jones is too quick for Reggie Miller to guard, and Caron Butler will also expose Miller's age if Artest guards Jones. In any way, Miller would be a non-factor on defense. Unless he hits big shots on the other end, expect him to play less next series. New Orleans, on the other hand, have two quick but undersized guards, and Indiana can take advantage of that. Jamaal Magloire and PJ Brown might be a big pair, but they're nothing Jermaine O'Neal and Foster can't guard. Also, New Orleans does not play well when it comes to 2nd rounds of the playoffs. Expect Indiana to have their way with the Hornets if these two teams were to face.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Kenny Anderson, Austin Croshere and Scot Pollard could be forgiven for taking a selfish interest in the outcome of the Miami-New Orleans playoff series tonight. It might just determine how much they play in the second round. All three, however, fall in line with their teammates in expressing no preference for the Indiana Pacers' opponent when they resume playoff action Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse. "I want to play, but I want us to win," Anderson said, echoing the other two. "It don't matter to me." Based on the substitution patterns used in the regular season games against the Heat and Hornets -- who play Game 7 of their first-round series tonight in Miami -- Croshere would play more in a series against Miami, while Pollard would play more against New Orleans. Anderson's best shot at playing time will be against whichever team gives the Pacers the most trouble with fullcourt pressure defense. Miami's frontline is smaller and quicker than New Orleans', and could be a better matchup for Croshere if coach Rick Carlisle goes 10 players deep in his rotation. The 6-10 Croshere, in fact, could match up with the Heat's top two centers, Brian Grant and Udonis Haslem, who are 6-9. Croshere played 44 minutes in the three regular-season games against the Heat. Pollard played 23 minutes, sitting out one entirely. Eighteen of his minutes came in a game in which Al Harrington sat out with a bruised knee and Miami went with a bigger lineup because forward Caron Butler was injured.</div><div align="center"><u>Full Story</u></div> <div align="center"> </div> <div align="center"> </div>
