Mayer: Can the Pacers Upset the Heat?

Yes, the Pacers can upset the Miami Heat and stun the world taking the Eastern Conference crown. It's also theoretically possible for me to dunk a basketball, but that hasn't happened in about 207,541 attempts. While the Pacers have a much better chance at moving on to the NBA Finals than me magically gaining massive hops, both remain doubtful.

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I don't mean to take anything away from the Miami Heat because there are some fantastic pieces on the roster and obviously basketball remains a team game. But let's be serious. The reason the Pacers are such underdogs is because of LeBron James. The King is in his career peak and is playing on another level. Really, we have never seen anything like this; as in the way LeBron is actually playing the game. He's able to guard 1-5, drive between and over multiple defenders, post up at most any spot, and hit three pointers. #BEASTMODE

The Pacers are about defense and truly team basketball. I have enjoyed watching this squad play immensely. Roy Hibbert anchors the defense and Paul George is the main offensive threat, but they are by no means counted on to carry the full load.

George will have the unenviable task of attempting to guard LeBron for a great deal of this series. Even if he is able to limit the greatest player in the world, all the energy expended on defense will surely impact George's offense. After Game 5 of the Pacers vs Knicks series I was in the Pacers locker room and heard George talking to a ball boy about how much guarding Carmelo Anthony took out of him. Get ready young fella because guarding Carmelo as opposed to LeBron is like fighting a mountain lion instead of a grizzly bear.

With that said, if Paul George is able to limit (and limit is stressed because LeBron will get his numbers), but not allow him to totally dominate, the Pacers have a shot. I'm not forgetting that George will not be alone. Surely, there will be double teams and having Hibbert clog the middle should stop LeBron from driving....sometimes. So, let's assume the limiting of the King happens. What do the Pacers need to do to win?

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We'll go right back to Roy Hibbert, who had struggled offensively for so much of the season before turning it around. The Pacers will need to feed the big man and he will need to convert. Miami is known to have issues with physical teams that can rely on a back to the basket big guy. The Pacers fit that description if Hibbert can be counted on .

Another area I'm really looking at is the guard match ups. I'm not expecting to see the Dwayne Wade that caused so much havoc last year. Wade is still a top player, but he's hurting and has not been himself for a while now. Lance Stephenson has emerged and after the display he put on against the Knicks, may be counted on even more. If Stepehenson can play up to his potential and George Hill can provide a solid compliment (and remain healthy) the Pacers will have an advantage at guard.

Chris Bosh is a major match up nightmare for many teams, but I could see David West pushing him around. I won't say the Pacers have an advantage there, but it seems pretty equal. I would take the Indiana bench over the Heat without a doubt when comparing depth. That will become a big factor if the series extends to six or seven games.

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So, the Heat have the best player and best combination of three players (even if Wade is not 100%). They are also more dynamic offensively (by a pretty good margin). The Pacers have a better defense (though Miami is still a good defensive team) and more depth. There are also more individual and positional match ups for the Pacers to exploit. However, the Heat have LeBron and it really is that simple. There's no reason to doubt the best player alive. I expect a good series that goes six or seven games. The Pacers very well could win...and I very well could dunk.

Mayer: Colin Cowherd Blames Poor Pacers Attendance on Racism

In case you missed "The Herd" yesterday, well, let's just say host Colin Cowherd stirred things up. Speaking about the Pacers poor attendance numbers despite the team thriving on the court, Cowherd asserted that racism was one of the main factors keeping spectators away from Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

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Obviously, this is a pretty controversial comment, especially with the certainty Cowherd expressed in saying it. I'll start with this. I think Colin Cowherd is a solid sports media personality, radio host, etc. I watch The Herd almost every day while eating lunch and genuinely enjoy the banter. While I don't always agree with what the host has to say, I still respect him. Cowherd genuinely believes and makes solid arguments about the topic, as opposed to a Skip Bayless type who simply tries to incite drama and controversy.

Back to the topic. I disagree with Cowherd on this subject. There are many reasons the Pacers are failing to draw (26th in attendance averaging 14,433 per game) despite Indiana playing so well (1st place in the Central Division and 3rd best record in the East). Is racism the reason? I really don't think so. Is it a factor? I can't definitively say it is not. However, if race is a factor I think it is such a small percentile that it really is not significant. The Malice in the Palace ended some fans relationship with the Pacers forever and could be a reason that some believe racism is an issue in attendance numbers. Makes some sense, but the brawl was almost a decade ago.

Cowherd continually dismissed the notion that Indianapolis is not a pro sports town by using the Reggie Miller days and the support Indy showed for those teams as an example. Great support for the Colts was also brought up.

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I disagree. Indianapolis is not a professional sports town and Indiana is not a professional sports state. That's not to say that pro sports don't have a place, but they are not the focal point. College and high school athletics, especially in basketball, rule the Hoosier state. One of the main reasons the Pacers are not drawing well is simple: Indiana University is back and taking the nation by storm while Butler has developed into a perennial contender. Those two schools are taking fans away. This is a down year for Purdue but it is a rarity and fans in West Lafayette would much rather support the Boilers then travel to Indy for an NBA game.

To further that point, many callers talked about how basketball fans in Indiana enjoy the team first, sharing the ball philosophy which distances the die hards from the superstar driven NBA. Cowherd retorted that is exactly how the Pacers play, so why wouldn't the basketball lovers in "the basketball state" want to see a pro team built in that image. Other callers said that the Pacers don't have a true super star which effects attendance and Cowherd came back with essentially the same argument: people want team basketball but then complain about not having a star.

It is true that basketball lovers in Indiana hate star driven selfish basketball. But it doesn't matter what kind of style the Pacers play because these are the fans that would choose a high school or college basketball game over an NBA game no matter what. So, the lack of a superstar does hurt because the younger generation (many who may not even be huge NBA fans) wait for Lebron or Kobe to hit the Bankers Life Fieldhouse floor.

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Reggie Miller was a superstar the city and state fell in love with. The Pacers were also massively successful for a number of years. That is why those teams drew well. No one went to Colts games until Peyton Manning came along, became a superstar, and led the Colts to the playoffs every year.  That goodwill has carried over with another budding superstar in Andrew Luck and was not terribly hurt by only one bad year in between.

The Pacers have not had a superstar since Miller and were not particularly successful until recently. From 2006-2011 Indiana was never above .500. Fan bases simply don't have a light bulb go on as soon as the team in their city starts to play well. If Indiana is able to sustain their winning ways and Paul George becomes the player many think he will be, the fans will return. Indianapolis is not a pro sports town, it takes a certain combination of factors for professional teams to keep the turnstiles clicking every year. Are some fans racist and refuse to support non Caucasian athletes? Sure, but that is a truth for every team in every city. Even if the Pacers do draw well in the next couple of years, Indianapolis will always be a small town, underdog, sports city that prefers high school and college athletics.

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Mayer: NBA First Look

Let's get this out of the way. The 2012/2013 NBA season will end with the Larry O'Brien trophy on a beach. Whether it basks in the sun on South Beach or in Malibu remains to be seen. The Heat and Lakers have put together mini all star teams.

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Arguments can be made that a number of squads will have a chance at winning the NBA Title this season and all have merit, but I can't see anyone making it over the LA/MIA mountain.

The Thunder would have been grouped with the two heavyweights if not for their recent trade of James Harden. Kevin Durant will play out of his mind and the negatives of Russel Westbrook are nowhere near the positives he brings to the court. Whatever your opinion of the deal, Oklahoma City is not as good this year without Harden. He may have struggled in the Finals, but the sixth man of the year was an integral piece to the Oklahoma City puzzle.

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The Boston Celtics have gone back to a Big 3 and are still extremely dangerous. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett still have some years and talent left and Rajan Rondo will officially be the best player and number one option in Boston. They bring in Jason Terry who will play a crucial role supplementing the loss of Ray Allen.






Tim Duncan comes back alongside Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker to give it another go round with the Spurs. If there's one lesson we have learned, never underestimate Greg Popovich and his core guys. However, they have shown us that something will need to change in order to reach the pinnacle despite regular season success.

Chicago also would have been high on the list of championship contenders, but the heart of the Bulls, Derrik Rose, won't be back into halfway through the season and who knows how long it will take for him to be back at full strength.

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The Indiana Pacers have one of the more interesting and complete teams in the league. They are deep and play a sound brand of basketball, but you need to be almost perfect to win in the NBA without a star player (if not three). Indiana has a couple of great players and a bunch of good players, but it's just not enough to go all the way.

The Los Angeles Clippers have really turned the franchise around. Blake Griffin is the centerpiece and I hope Chris Paul sticks around. The high flyers are immensely talented and should only be better after the acquisition of veterans Lamar Odom (who I expect to get back to form)  and Grant Hill. Once again, good team, but I can't honestly say they are close to good enough to get past the Lakers or Heat.

These are the only teams I can see posing a true threat to the MIA and LAL. .

Miami is coming off a championship and a year in which Lebron James finally seemed to get over the hatred that spawned from "The Decision". They come back a year older and wiser, not to mention finally understanding their uptempo form of basketball will work without a true center. The Heat play suffocating defense and push the ball in transition like no other squad due to their other worldly athleticism. Now they bring in Ray Allen, who spaces the floor for James and Wade and will have a field day running around the perimeter, while defenses are focused on guarding the middle against drives. Don't forget about Rashard Lewis, it was not so long ago he was considered one of the better complimentary players around and could find his groove again on a team where he has much less responsibility.

The Lakers went crazy this off season. They came out of nowhere to snag Steve Nash, something most Western Conference fans thought they would never ever see. Nash is exactly what Los Angeles needs out of a point guard. Nash may be old, but he still has some of the best vision and instincts in the game. Kobe will not have to worry about setting plays up as much and Nash will not have to worry about scoring which should help both of them. Then there is the whole Dwight Howard thing. How LA got Howard without giving up Pau Gasol is beyond me. The Lakers have supreme talent all over the place that allows each player to focus on what they do best.

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 I hate to say it because surprisingly, despite being an LA native, I am no Lakers fan. In fact, I have a strong dislike for the team. I'll still go with LA to win the whole thing. A starting five of Nash, Kobe, Artest, Pau, and Howard is hard to fathom. The bench is strong as well, hello Antawn Jamison. I'll say Lakers over Heat in 6 games.