Am I Blue Through it All?
Herald of the Apocalypse
They are probably slightly better than MIAMI in that particular matchup.
I would now pick Indiana to beat Miami.
But, I would not pick Indiana to win the east without the right matchups.
They essentially had a brain-fart in game 1, or they might have beaten Miami this year.
They added 4 solid pieces to a very young team WHILE the very old team Miami loses Miller and does nothing but get older in the offseason.
Miami, Chicago, and maybe even the Nets are more versatile in other matchups.
Indiana just has a perfect matchup exploitation versus the HEAT. They are not better overall.
Miami will be the favorite to win the east, but they might not be able to beat Indiana.
I think, based on the players signed, that the Pacers actually took a page from the Heat playbook. How can you double Hibbert (or contain Hibber and West) with three point shooters knocking them down?