Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat: Game 7 Postgame Grades and Analysis

The Miami Heat showed up in every way, shape and form in Game 7, en route to an absolutely dominant 99-76 win over the upset-minded Indiana Pacers. 

In doing so they also gave the San Antonio Spurs something to be seriously concerned about as both teams look toward June 6, or better known as Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals. 

For the first time in the entire series, the Heat showed up on the defensive side of the ball, forcing 21 Pacers turnovers and overwhelming Indiana on every offensive possession.

LeBron James showed up and led the Heat with 32 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. He also shot a Steve Nash-ish 15-of-16 from the charity stripe.

Speaking of the charity stripe, the Heat won the free-throw battle by getting to the line 38 times, as compared to just 20 times for the Pacers. That clearly depicts the intensity that everyone wearing a Heat jersey brought to their aggressive offensive attack—consistently forcing the issue at the rim.

Dwyane Wade finally responded well, with an impressive 21-point and-nine rebound (six offensive) performance.

With a dominant Game 7 win, the Heat are ready to face off against a well-rested San Antonio Spurs team that will be looking to keep Miami from moving one step closer to the beginning of establishing a legitimate dynasty. 

Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals is set for June 6 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. You won't want to miss that one. 

Point Guards

George Hill, Pacers

Thirteen points looks good on paper, but when it takes 4-of-14 shooting to get there, it lessens the positive impact. 

George Hill didn't have an efficient game, shooting 29 percent from the floor and dishing out just one single assist all game long.

When the Pacers needed him to step up the most, Hill failed to answer the call. 

The Heat were willing to let him beat them from the perimeter—as they decided to double down on the interior instead of staying with him—but Hill couldn't knock down enough shots. 

Overall Grade: D+

Mario Chalmers, Heat

Mario Chalmers had a "meh" kind of game, accounting for seven points on 3-of-8 shooting with two rebounds and one assist. 

He committed five personal fouls, which really didn't make a difference because Norris Cole played better than Chalmers in his minutes replacing him.

Either way, Chalmers didn't force his play in the game and that was important for the Heat, as they were able to control the tempo out of the gate.

Much like everyone wearing a Miami jersey, Chalmers' help-side defense and quickness on closeouts was a difference-maker early. The Pacers just didn't look ready for the kind of intensity the Heat, and Chalmers, brought from the tip of Game 7. 

Overall Grade: C+

Shooting Guards

Lance Stephenson, Pacers

Game 7 wasn't an awful one for Lance Stephenson, but it just wasn't enough to help the Pacers get past a Heat team that was playing like it was possessed. 

He had 10 points on 50-percent shooting with six rebounds, five assists, two steals and just two turnovers.

Honestly, that's an impressive performance by Stephenson. It just wasn't close to being enough because most everyone else wearing Pacers jerseys didn't feel like showing up—in terms of efficiency and consistent production.

Stephenson's improvement this season, and specifically in this series, has to be encouraging for Indiana. 

For once in his life, his teammates may have wanted Stephenson to be more aggressive on offense, and that shows just how rough of a night it was for Indiana.

Overall Grade: B

Dwyane Wade, Heat

Well, Dwyane Wade finally decided to show up to the party, and he made quite an entrance.

Wade had his best game of the Eastern Conference Finals by far, with 21 points and nine rebounds (six offensive). His aggressive attack of the offensive glass overwhelmed the Pacers and was a major reason why the Heat ran away with this one after the first quarter. 

I think it's safe to say that Wade took offense to people calling him out after a lackluster series. Hey, if that's what it takes to get Wade to wake up and play to his potential, I'm sure Heat fans are okay with that. 

Through the midway point of the third quarter, Wade had more offensive rebounds (five) than the entire Pacers team (three), and that should tell you just what kind of game it was in Game 7.

The Pacers ultimately out-rebounded him on the offensive glass with eight offensive boards, but Wade gave their entire team a run for their money. All that held back Wade's performance were his five turnovers. 

It's nice to see Wade showing up with some emotion. Now we'll see if he can carry that into the 2013 NBA Finals.

Overall Grade: B+

Small Forwards

Paul George, Pacers

The spotlight is just a little too bright for Paul George, and that was confirmed in Game 7 on Monday night. 

Not only had he picked up his fifth personal foul by the start of the fourth quarter, he also couldn't hang with LeBron defensively, even a little.

George's night ended with 7:43 remaining in the fourth quarter when he picked up his sixth personal foul, ending the night with just seven points, seven rebounds, four assists and three turnovers. He shot a very underwhelming 2-of-9 from the floor and 2-of-4 from the charity stripe.

We all saw George mature into a legitimate star throughout this series, but that doesn't mean his work is done. To help his team reach that elusive next level, George needs to be more efficient on both sides of the ball. 

Overall Grade: D+

LeBron James, Heat

Everyone was wondering whether LeBron James would show up and play like Michael Jordan and score every point he could, or like Magic Johnson and facilitate to his teammates on every possession. 

Well, to be honest with you, he played like Steve Nash—meaning that he shot lights-out from the charity stripe. 

LeBron scored 15 of his 32 points from the line, and he only missed one free throw all game long. 

In addition to being nearly automatic from the free-throw line, LeBron dominated every aspect of the game—ending one of the biggest games of his career with 32 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 41 minutes of action.

More impressive than any of his points was the defensive intensity that he brought to the floor. LeBron set the tone early with lockdown defense on Paul George and impressively timed double-teams on everyone in the paint.

LeBron continued to elevate his already incredible game, and he did so by leading with his game rather than his words.

Now, it's time for LeBron to show the NBA world that he can overcome the veteran San Antonio Spurs once and for all.

Overall Grade: A+ 

Power Forwards

David West, Pacers

Raise your hand if you got sick of watching David West complain about everything under the sun in Game 7.

Either way, West had a rough night shooting the ball, going just 6-of-15 from the floor while also committing six turnovers. 

The Heat finally figured out how to answer West's physicality on offense, and it was simply to respond by overpowering him with physical defense every time he touched the ball.

There's no doubt that his inability to dominate early on hurt the Pacers in this one.

Overall Grade: C-

Udonis Haslem, Heat 

Intensity was the name of the game for Udonis Haslem in Game 7.

While he ended the game with a meager three points and four rebounds (two offensive), he attacked the glass consistently and was active on defense. 

His court awareness and opportunistic double-teams really made a difference early on in Game 7, and it's a major reason why the Heat were able to pull away from the Pacers early.

Haslem had some great moments in this series, and while his production doesn't look impressive in the stat column in this one, his impact was still felt. Setting the tone early isn't an easy thing to do, and Haslem helped get that done. 

Overall Grade: B-

Centers

Roy Hibbert, Pacers

With 1:48 left in the third quarter, Roy Hibbert picked up his fifth personal foul and headed to the bench. While the game was pretty much over at that point, Hibbert's absence certainly didn't help Indiana.

At that point, Hibbert had accounted for 11 points and six rebounds—which is a far cry from his production in the past few games. 

Hibbert ended Game 7 with a team-high 18 points on impressive 7-of-11 shooting. Even with that offensive production, the Pacers couldn't get any consistency or flow on offense. 

Miami made Hibbert's night very tough with double-teams on an intense and consistent basis, forcing him into five personal fouls and three turnovers. 

With that being said, Hibbert had one heck of a series and showed us all that he's ready to be the best center in the game right now. Solid series for Hibbert, even if it didn't end the way he wanted it to.

Overall Grade: B+

Chris Bosh, Heat

Okay, let's just get the obvious out of the way. Chris Bosh failed to get out of single digits in points for the fourth straight game, and he shot an abysmal 3-of-13 from the field.

Now onto the positives for Bosh. 

He grabbed eight rebounds, which is his highest total since Game 3 of the Heat's series with the Chicago Bulls, and he finally started to attack the rim again.

Sure, he missed 10 shots, but Bosh made up for it by aggressively attacking the glass, stepping up the physicality on the defensive side of the ball and continuing to fight through his rough offensive night.

Bosh also blocked three shots, which was his highest total since Game 4 of the Heat's series with the Bulls. 

It's going to be a much more "doable" matchup for Bosh when he faces off against Tim Duncan or Tiago Splitter in the NBA Finals, and he's certainly looking forward to not having to face off against Hibbert for a few months.

Overall Grade: C+

Sixth Men

D.J. Augustin, PG Pacers

Much like the entire Pacers' bench, D.J. Augustin forgot that Game 7 was a must-win scenario.

He scored two points on 2-of-2 shooting from the free-throw line, and he failed to do anything else all game long.

If there's one thing that the Pacers need to add this offseason, it's depth on their bench because they just don't have it right now. 

Augustin reminded them of that when he came into the game for George Hill and failed to have any significant impact on the game.

Overall Grade: D

Ray Allen, SG Heat 

It was nice of Ray Allen to finally show up and provide some production off the bench. 

Allen helped the Heat assert their dominance, especially in the first half, ending the night with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. 

For the first time all series long, Allen brought significant and efficient production off the bench, and it certainly made a major impact in sparking the Heat's offense.

Allen was also active on defense, cutting into passing lanes and being a physical force on the perimeter. That defensive focus helped solidify the Heat's bench play and fit right into the tone Miami set early on.

Overall Grade: B-

Benches

Indiana Pacers Bench

The Indiana Pacers survived up until Game 7 in this series with an atrocious lack of production off the bench, but it finally caught up to them.

In 53 total minutes, the Pacers' bench accounted for a whopping 14 points and six rebounds while shooting 5-of-12 from the floor.

Tyler Hansbrough was perfect from the floor while scoring six points, but a majority of that production came when the game was well in hand. 

Aside from that, the only other impact the Pacers' bench had on the game was when Jeff Pendergraph got ejected for trying to strong-arm Norris Cole, who wasn't willing to back down. 

Bench depth is pivotal for helping the Pacers get past the Heat next season. 

Overall Grade: D+

Miami Heat Bench 

In a somewhat shocking turn of events, Shane Battier spent 48 minutes on the bench in Game 7. 

Where did all his minutes go? They went to Mike Miller, who stepped up and put up some solid production in his place with zero points on 0-of-3 shooting from the field.

Wait, how can a zero-percent shooting performance be impressive? Well, it's because Miller absolutely brought it on the defensive side of the ball, forcing three steals and never letting the Pacers get the best of him. 

Chris Andersen finally missed a field goal (two in total), but he still had a solid game with seven points and five rebounds in just 17 minutes. 

Norris Cole, who got ejected for breathing, was stellar with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, four assists and two rebounds.

When the Heat play this deep, they are nearly impossible to beat. Let's see how long this kind of second-unit production will last when the Heat face off against the mighty San Antonio Spurs. 

Overall Grade: A