Heat vs. Pacers: Why Series Has Been Best Matchup of NBA Playoffs

As we prepare for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to get underway at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday night, it's important we look back at what's come before.

No, we're not saying to empty your nostalgia well like Don Draper pitching "The Carousel." But merely to look back and marvel at what this series has been—the best playoff series of the 2013 playoffs by a mile and one of the best since the turn of the century. 

It's rare, even in this era where relative parity, for two teams to be as perfectly matched as the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat. For two circumstances to align in such a perfect way. For two teams to bring it, all while knowing which it to bring on a nightly basis. Credit the coaches.  

And yet, as we stand on the precipice of what might be the final game of this series, that's exactly what's happened. Five hellacious meetings, the only "dud" in the lot being the contest where the World's Greatest Player showed a ruthlessness pulverizing Paul George in the post only seen by those struck with the sociopathic competitiveness gene (in a good way), the Michael Jordans and Kobe Bryants of the world. 

In each of the other four games, which are in total separated by a single point in Miami's favor, the series has felt weirdly Newtonian. For every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction in this series.

That's been especially the case for the series' two coaches, who have both been out-of-their-minds good. 

Erik Spoelstra, once derided as merely a coattail rider in the Big Three's grand scheme, has developed into one of the game's better tactical minds. It was Spoelstra who pushed for Miami to adopt the positionless offense that made them the league's most efficient attack during the regular season, though it was found mostly by chance against these Pacers in last year's playoffs. 

And it's been Spoelstra's expert ability to adjust his scheme—with plenty of help from LeBron James, who we'll be discussing later—that has helped keep Miami's league-best offense afloat against Indiana's brilliant defense. The Heat have scored 110.1 points per 100 possessions in this series—just a shade under their regular-season average—against a Pacers defense that was the second-best statistically in basketball, per NBA.com. 

Whether that's by having James destroy George in the post or making wholesale changes to the rotation midstream, Spoelstra has pushed the right buttons at the right time. It was Spoelstra who all but abandoned his beloved small-ball lineup in Game 5, playing Shane Battier only eight minutes in a move to combat Indiana's size. 

The beautiful thing is that Pacers coach Frank Vogel has been adjusting with Spoelstra every step of the way—save for his ill-fated benching of Hibbert at the end of Game 1. A defensive mastermind whose principles have set the identity for the entire roster, Vogel has consistently made necessary tweaks to combat the Heat offense—even if Miami is still scoring at an elite level.

When James torched Indiana with high pick-and-roll plays in Game 1, Vogel had David West and other bigs hedge hard to impede the progress of the ball-handler. When Miami pulverized the Pacers in the post in Game 3, wouldn't you know it Vogel found a way to double and still keep his guys in decent closing position for the most part. 

Too often in sports we judge the outcome, not the process. The outcome says Frank Vogel has been a terrible schematic adjuster defensively. The process, for those who actually watch, has been marvelous.

As has it been with Vogel's offensive scheme, which isn't usually an emphasis. He's found an infinite amount of ways to get Hibbert, who we'll discuss in just a jiff, the ball on the low block. As Spoelstra has tried new ways to keep his undersized bigs out of that situation, mostly by fronting, Vogel was able to work around that by having Hibbert set a screen and then dart to the weak side right as the initial ball-handler swings it over to the wing. 

Another adjustment will be necessary in Game 6, as Spoelstra kept his bigs back on pick-and-rolls on Thursday to avoid that outcome as much as possible. 

If you think coaching is the only example, look a little deeper. This series is a war zone with a never-ending list of mini-battles too close to call: Dwyane Wade vs. Father Time and injuries; Chris "Birdman" Andersen vs. Tyler "Psycho T" Hansbrough; Lance Stephenson vs. sanity; Paul George vs. the glass ceiling of superstardom: Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem vs. David West in a handicap match that seems fair, mainly because you don't want to mess with David West.

That's nine players, all involved in either captivating storylines or on the precipice of cold-cocking someone in anger. Seriously, it's a (understandable) shame that Birdman is suspended for Game 6. I was looking forward to this actually happening. (I had Birdman with a first-round TKO, for what it's worth.)

There are just two major players in this series where the sense of equality is absent. And if you haven't guessed those players are Roy Hibbert and LeBron James, well you can get out.  

Hibbert, a seven-foot human tree trunk, is in the midst of the best five-game stretch of his career. The 26-year-old center is averaging 22.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and more than a block per game. Indiana has been 15.5 points worse per 100 possessions with Hibbert on the bench during this series, per NBA.com's media stats tool.

The entire team has been an absolute wreck without him on both ends, much of which is predicated on his size. Hibbert's smooth hook shots with both hands glide easily over Miami's big men, who look like Lilliputians next to him. It's been a jarring transformation for a player who shot under 45 percent during the regular season and was the worst center in the league at the rim during the regular season. 

But while Hibbert has certainly been the biggest surprise of this series, nothing tops the otherworldly performance being put forth by create-a-player LeBron James. 

We've always known James had the ability to morph into a video game-like player. His combination of size, speed, athleticism, intelligence and skill has never been seen before in this league. That's what made it so frustrating when he would hide from the ball in clutch situations or refuse to develop a post game.

Now? LeBron is what happens in NBA 2K13 when you create a player and give him 99s in every category. In this series, he's worked as a primary ball-handler in pick-and-rolls, worked the low post beautifully, locked down anyone he's asked on defense and thrown in a few wrinkles we hadn't even seen yet.

Old LeBron crumbles this Pacers team. He (understandably) shoots dirty looks to Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, two superstars whose performances have made the classic Cleveland days not seem so bad.

New LeBron only gets better in the face of adversity. He finds new ways to affect the game, including a stretch in Game 5 where he suddenly became Ray Allen in catch-and-shoot situations. We're seeing the greatest player of this generation at the height of his skills, working his way up the all-time NBA ladder as we live and breathe.

Seriously. How many players in their primes in NBA history would you take over LeBron right now? Five? Good luck naming them. 

For all the equality talk, it's been Hibbert and James who have defined this series. And the ultimate result on Saturday and Monday (if necessary) will be the oldest NBA playoffs adage in the world coming true. The team that has the best player will win a series more often than not. And even further, that's more true about the team with the best duo. So who are you riding with, LeBron and a decrepit D-Wade or George and Hibbert?

Three weeks ago, you say LeBron-Wade hands down. Now? No one can be so sure, and that's what makes this series so much fun to watch. 

So savor these 48 minutes. Look fondly at George's push for superstardom, Stephenson's battle with the butterflies dancing around in his head, Wade's transformation to Ira Newble and everything else going on with this series. 

Appreciate two incredibly good teams playing elite basketball every 48 hours. Because no one knows when we'll get to see something like this again. 

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