Heat vs. Pacers Game 3: Picks and Predictions for Crucial Matchup

The Miami Heat are traveling to Indiana to take on the Pacers tonight for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. You can see it live at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. Here’s a quick breakdown of the contest and then a prediction on who will come out on top.

What is at Stake?

With the series tied at 1-1, this is a critically important game. Indiana was able to steal home-court advantage on the road in Game 2, and Miami has to earn it back by pulling out a win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Chris Bosh is out indefinitely with an abdominal strain and did not travel with the team, meaning one of the Heat's best players is not going to be active once again.

In contrast, Indiana is quite healthy and is coming off a thrilling upset victory, so momentum is on its side.

Keys for Heat Victory

Miami must get Dwyane Wade and LeBron James involved in the paint. The team was absolutely pitiful from within five feet in Game 2, scoring just 22 points and being blocked away five times in that area.

With Bosh’s mid-range game no longer in the picture, Roy Hibbert has been staying home and protecting the rim. This is exactly how the Mavericks took care of business against the Heat in last year’s Finals matchup.

Coach Erik Spoelstra has to have something up his sleeve to counteract this; otherwise they will suffer the same fate.

Keys for Pacers Victory

Indiana is one of the biggest teams in the league. With 7’2” Roy Hibbert patrolling the painted area, the Pacers have to continue to out-rebound their opponent. They were able to do that in Game 2, pulling down 50 of them compared to Miami’s 40.

With such a large rebounding margin, the score shouldn’t have been so close in that contest (78-75). It helped that the Pacers hounded the Heat’s perimeter shooters and limited them to just one made shot from beyond the arc.

They’ll have to do all of that again, plus hope that LeBron and Wade aren’t feeling on fire, to get another win.