Pacers vs Heat Game 2: Players Who Must Shine for Indiana to Defeat Miami

The Chris Bosh-less Miami Heat is still arguably the best team in the NBA. The Oklahoma City Thunder would take offense to that, with or without Bosh, but it remains to be seen if we'll get the chance to see those two teams duke it out in the NBA Finals.

The Heat have to defeat the Indiana Pacers before they can even consider that option and without Bosh, who is out indefinitely with an abdominal strain, that task just got considerably tougher.

Indiana has a distinct advantage on the glass with 7'2" center Roy Hibbert, power forward David West, and renowned hustle player Tyler Hansbrough off the bench. Continually growing guard Paul George helps too.

So what exactly does Indiana have to do to exploit the Heat star's absence? It actually starts away from the glass.

The Heat have to find a way to draw Hibbert away from the basket. Bosh was a legitimate threat to score from 15'-18' out, but the same cannot be said of the players who will cycle in the game trying to replace him.

Udonis Haslem is the best shooter of a group that also includes Ronny Turiaf and Joel Anthony, but none of them are anything close to the player Bosh is.

This means the frontcourt of the Pacers has to dominate this game—Hibbert, West and Danny Granger.

Naturally, the first inclination for Miami will be to move LeBron to the four, but that means he'll be banging bodies with West for extended periods of time. LeBron can handle that, but it doesn't give the Heat the optimal matchup it wants. Ultimately, it could also tire out Miami's superstar more than the Heat would like.

But, if West and Hibbert are allowed to stay on the block that will limit the space for Wade and James' lanes to the basket.

The Pacers have to find a way to do that and score the basketball all the same.

LeBron and Wade actually outscored Indiana by themselves in the second half of Game 1 and James also added 15 rebounds.

He's the league's MVP for a reason and we've come to expect these type of performances from him.

If the Pacers are going to exploit Chris Bosh's absence they need to force the Heat to play their way. West and Hibbert have to dominate the glass—especially on the offensive end—and they have to alter the shots of Heat players on the way to the cup.

Granger has to step up and shoulder the scoring load like a legitimate No. 1 option. He may not be a true No. 1, but he has to be for this team to win.

Indiana has its hands full here, but they are capable of stealing Game 2—the Pacers just need their best players to play at their very best.