NBA Playoffs 2012: Without Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Miami Heat Are Ice Cold

The Indiana Pacers demolished the Miami Heat on Thursday night by a score of 94-75 and assumed a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Heat shot just 37.2 percent from the field and continued their horrific three-point shooting (4-of-20 in Game 3, 1-of-16 in Game 2 and 0-of-6 in Game 1), while Pacers center Roy Hibbert pulled down a remarkable 18 rebounds to go with his 19 points.

Dwyane Wade was simply awful, going 2-for-13 from the floor for five points. The Heat's overall performance was so bad that Mario Chalmers was their leading scorer.

It's safe to say the Heat sorely miss Chris Bosh.

While he is the third banana in the Heat's Big Three, he is perhaps the most important piece in the puzzle for Miami. He can rebound, play defense, score in the paint and hit the outside jumper. He gives the Heat size in the middle, which is all the more important since the Heat doesn't have much in terms of centers.

With LeBron James attempting to play power forward, it limits his dynamic game and even forced him to admit that it is "taxing."

Bosh's numbers won't exactly make your eyes pop, as he averaged 18 points and 7.9 rebounds in the regular season. But without him in the lineup, there is a domino effect on the Heat's offense and defense. They have no paint presence on either side of the ball, transforming them into a perimeter team that struggles on the glass.

Fox Sport's Sam Amico reports that Bosh did not travel with the team to Indianapolis and will miss Game 4 on Sunday. The Heat could possibly have him back for Game 5 on Tuesday, but by that time, they could be down in the series 3-1 and facing another inglorious exit from the playoffs.

The Heat even cancelled their practice on Friday, perhaps just so they wouldn't have to address the media about their horrible performance in Game 3.

When accepting his third MVP award on Saturday, LeBron stated, "I want that championship. That’s all that matters to me.” If that is the case, he had better pray for a speedy recovery by Chris Bosh, because without him, the Heat's play is downright tepid.