Miami Heat vs. Indiana Pacers: Game 6 Postgame Grades and Analysis

Just like that, we're all set for what should be an epic Game 7 between the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat in South Beach on Monday night.

The Pacers dominated the Heat throughout the second half, outscoring them 52-37, en route to an impressive 91-77 win.

Paul George led the way for Indiana with 28 points, 11-of-19 shooting from the field, and eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Roy Hibbert added 24 points and 11 rebounds, and he proved once again to be too much for the Heat's interior defense to handle. 

All the Heat starters not named LeBron James shot a combined 7-of-29, combining for 25 points, which is four less LeBron's total. 

LeBron did all he could to will the Heat to victory, with 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but it wasn't enough because the rest of his team failed to show up.

Game 7 is all set for Monday in Miami at 8 p.m. ET, and with the Heat's season on the line, it's going to be a showdown that you won't want to miss. 

Point Guards

Mario Chalmers, PG, Heat

With 10 points, Mario Chalmers scored 13 percent of the Heat's points. That's not a good thing, though.

Chalmers shot just 3-of-8 from the field, and while he wasn't overly aggressive, his lack of consistent efficiency didn't help the Heat one bit.

Defensively speaking, Chalmers had a tough time locking Hill down, as he let him score 16 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor.

What Chalmers needed to do was be more aggressive with the ball, only because Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade decided to watch the game instead of playing in it.

A lack of aggressive play early made Chalmers look hesitant, and he didn't attack like he usually does. If the Heat don't get production from everyone not named LeBron, Chalmers will certainly have to pick up his game in Game 7.

Overall Grade: C+

George Hill, PG, Pacers

There he is.

After a vanishing act in Game 5, Hill found his shooting touch and was a major piece of the Pacers' aggressive offensive attack. 

He dropped 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, and he dished out six assists while committing just two turnovers throughout 43 minutes.

Efficiency was the name of the game for Hill, and his production couldn't have come at a better time.

His defense on Chalmers was solid throughout the game—in which he sat for just five minutes. The way he locked down Chalmers has to have Hill optimistic for a dominant Game 7 performance. 

Overall Grade: B+

Shooting Guards

Dwyane Wade, SG, Heat

Dwyane Wade did a great job of reminding the Heat why he's on the decline, with another underwhelming performance. 

In the first half specifically he scored just one point on 0-of-4 shooting, with two turnovers.

Wade picked it up a little in the second half, ending Game 6 with 10 points, but he failed to do anything else of significance. 

He shot an atrocious 3-of-11 from the field, and he had as many turnovers (two) as he did steals and rebounds.

While I hate to say it, Wade is doing a solid job of showing Miami's management why starting to think about a future without him isn't that bad of an idea. 

Wade has one more game—Game 7 on Monday—to prove that he's capable of being a foundational piece of the Heat's future. If he doesn't do that, the offseason will be quite an interesting time for Miami.

Overall Grade: D+

Lance Stephenson, SG, Pacers

If you look solely at Lance Stephenson's offensive performance, with four points on 1-of-4 shooting, you'd think that he had an awful game.

But in reality, there were two key aspects of his game that helped the Pacers win.

First, he rebounded the ball like a beast, with 12 rebounds. And while he committed four turnovers, he figured out early on that his shot wasn't falling, and he stopped shooting the ball.

Putting an end to his rough shooting night by simply not putting up shots helped Indiana, because the team got the ball to players who were able to get more high-percentage looks at the rim.

Indiana will need more production from Stephenson in Game 7, because the Heat will certainly have a better defensive plan for the Pacers' dominant interior offense. 

Overall Grade: C

Small Forwards

LeBron James, SF, Heat

With 10 points in first quarter, LeBron James launched himself passed Scottie Pippen into the No. 12 spot on the ranking of all-time points in the playoffs—he currently sits with 3,662 points in his playoff career.

There was no question that LeBron wanted to stop the Pacers' playoff run in Game 6, with 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting and seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.

Unfortunately, he was the only player wearing a Heat jersey who actually showed up to get the Heat into the NBA Finals.

The most encouraging aspect of his performance, though, was the way he ended the game, by walking out onto the floor after the final buzzer sounded, high-fiving his teammates and trying to set the tone early for Game 7. 

At one point in his career, he would've just walked into the locker room, but it looks like he's ready to lead Miami into the most pivotal game of its season. For the Heat's sake, let's hope that he can inspire at least one of his Big Three partners to help him out in Game 7.

Overall Grade: A-

Paul George, SF, Pacers

Once again, Paul George reminded us why he's a budding superstar in the NBA.

Not only did he do a solid job of defending LeBron, he also found his efficiency, shooting an impressive 11-of-19 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

He ended with 28 points, eight rebound, five assists and three steals, with his biggest shot coming as the Heat were trailing by just four with under five minutes left.

That three-pointer gave the Pacers the jolt that they needed to overcome a late Heat run, and it further solidified George's impressive series against the Heat.

While he did have a great game, he committed a whopping six turnovers and four personal fouls. If he commits those fouls and turns the ball over at that rate in Miami on Monday, Indiana will have a tough time beating the reigning champs.

With that being said, George came to play on Saturday night, and his impressive performance should inspire the Pacers to compete until the final second in Game 7. 

Overall Grade: A

Power Forwards

Udonis Haslem, PF, Heat

Udonis Haslem re-entered the atmosphere after his dominant Game 5 performance.

He ended the night with an underwhelming zero points and two rebounds in 16 minutes. I wonder what happens during pregame routines that makes him transform into the dominant player we saw in Game 5.

Either way, Haslem was a no-show, like much of the Heat's roster not named LeBron. Miami hopes that he can find out what turns him into a productive and efficient player, because he's clearly integral to the Heat's success in terms of spreading the floor. 

Overall Grade: F

David West, PF, Pacers

It wasn't the most efficient performance from David West, but it was very well balanced, with 11 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal.

He made a bone-headed play to end the first half when he fouled LeBron on a terrible entry pass to give him two points. But he made up for it with solid production in the second half.

While he shot just 5-of-14 from the field, his five offensive rebounds gave the Pacers pivotal second-chance opportunities that they utilized to help them overcome the Heat's late surge.

When Hibbert wasn't banging his way to the rim in the fourth, West was knocking mid-range jumpers that kept the Heat at bay. Solid performance by West, but the more important performance is now going to come in Game 7 in Miami.

Overall Grade: B

Centers

Chris Bosh, C, Heat

Whoever was supposed to remind Chris Bosh that there was a pivotal playoff game certainly forgot to, because he didn't show up at all.

With just three points, two rebounds and two turnovers in the first half, it's amazing the Heat had a 41-39 lead entering halftime. He also let Paul George posterize him on a fast break, which didn't help add to his reputation of being a soft defender.

Defensively speaking, Bosh proved once again that he can't defend legitimate centers in the league. He was outplayed, overpowered and simply dominated by Roy Hibbert every minute the two were in the game. 

Bosh ended the game with five points, four rebounds and three turnovers in 31 minutes of action—he also shot 1-of-8 from the field.

If Bosh follows this performance with another dud in Game 7, the Heat have every right to put him on the trade block, because he isn't the center the Heat need—because he's soft, inefficient and lost on defense. 

Overall Grade: F

Roy Hibbert, C, Pacers

Once again, Roy Hibbert owned the paint on both sides of the ball—highlighted by his defensive stand on LeBron James in the fourth quarter that led to an offensive and technical foul on LeBron.

Hibbert shot an efficient 11-of-20 from the floor, and crushed the Heat with 24 points. 

Every time he touched the ball, and the Heat didn't double down on him, Hibbert made them pay—helping Indiana double the Heat's interior offense with 44 points in the paint.

It's extremely evident that this playoff series has helped Hibbert develop into a legitimate superstar. It's certainly going to be exciting to watch him battle it out against Chris Andersen when he returns for Game 7. 

Overall Grade: A

Sixth Men

Ray Allen, SG, Heat

Well, Ray Allen looked 37 years old in Game 6, and that cost the Heat.

Shooting just 2-of-8 from the field and 1-of-4 from beyond the arc isn't going to cut it for Miami as it heads into Game 7.

Miami struggled in Game 6 to shoot efficiently, shooting just 36 percent—which is the Heat's worst percentage of the year—and Allen was brought in to make sure that sort of thing didn't happen.

Allen isn't doing his job, and he's hurting Miami right now. It's time for Allen to prove that adding him this offseason was the right move to make.

Overall Grade: D

D.J. Augustin, PG, Pacers

There's not much to say about D.J. Augustin, as he scored two points on 1-of-1 shooting in 10 minutes of action.

He was efficient with the ball, and that's really all Indiana needs from him.

It wouldn't hurt for Augustin to be a bit more aggressive on offense, which is what he'll need to be if the Pacers are going to shock the world and beat the Heat in Game 7 on Monday.

Overall Grade: C+

Benches

Miami Heat Bench

Even with Chris Andersen's suspension, the Heat didn't lose much defensive pressure in the interior, thanks to a solid performance by Joel Anthony, with eight rebounds (five offensive) and three blocks.

It's a shame that Miami wasted Mike Miller's impressive back-to-back three-pointers that helped cut the lead to just six points in the fourth quarter, but that's just the way the Heat played in Game 6. 

Erik Spoelstra clearly needs to insert Miller into the lineup more, considering his solid six points, three rebounds and one steal in just 11 minutes of action.

Norris Cole, with nine points in 27 minutes had a solid night, but the rest of the second unit—mainly Ray Allen—didn't step up enough to help the Heat end this series.

Overall Grade: B-

Indiana Pacers Bench 

It's almost a scientific fact that the Pacers don't get any production from their bench, and that was true during Game 6. 

In 33 total minutes, the Pacers' bench accounted for just eight of the Pacers' 91 points, on 3-of-5 combined shooting from the floor.

Luckily, the Pacers simply don't need to get production from their bench to beat Miami, instead, they just need efficiency handling the ball and on the glass, which they got in Game 6. 

Overall Grade: B