Heat @ Pacers Preview

When the Miami Heat were lost a handful of games back in Dec. The Heat’s big three kept saying “it only December.”

Here we are in March.  The Heat are clearly going to the playoffs, however, they are losing games.  Most notably, they lost to the New Orleans Pelicans.  Now even Chris Bosh is admitting that games mean more at this point in the season.

Back on Dec. 18, the Heat clashed with the Indiana Pacers in a game that had the feel of playoff match up.  Both the Heat and the Pacers downplayed the game, but the media was not having any of it.  It was undoubtedly the biggest game of the season.

The Heat and the Pacers are going to clash again tonight.  Now that we are in March, all the hype and buzz surrounding this game is real.

I know everybody’s trying to make the games important back in December. Well, now they’re important.

-Chris Bosh

This game may not be the be-all-end-all in the Eastern Conference, but it is going to go a long way in shifting the momentum to either the No. 1 Pacers or the No. 2 Heat.  Indiana has held the No. 1 spot in the East since Nov. 4. If the Pacer’s win they will go up three games over the Heat.  It the Heat hand the Pacers a loss they will be on equal playing grounds as far as losses go.

These two teams were no strangers when they met back in Dec.  In fact, dare we say, that the Heat and Pacers are smack in the middle of a heated rivalry.  They have met in the past two postseasons, in intense playoff series.

As much as the Heat has been off as of late, the Pacers are not exactly riding a whole lot of momentum in this bout either.  In fact, both teams have lost seven of their last 12 games.

The Pacers recently lost to the Chicago Bulls. The Heat managed to squeak past the Portland Trail Blazers  on Monday.

This is the second of three meeting between these two squads.  The teams will square off again in Miami on April 11.

The Pacers are the favorites to win with a -2.5 points spread. The game starts at 8 p.m. ET and you can watch it on ESPN.