The Push For Game 7!

It was back on March 28th of this year that Indiana made their only appearance in Dallas for a game with the Mavericks.

Dallas for an umpteenth time it seemed about to prepare for a shave and getting back to .500 and some respectability. Also an opportunity to exert some gloom and doom on a younger up and coming team.

The win and the shave would come a few weeks later. On this night these eyes witnessed an absolute clinic on how you play in the paint, how you shoot, how you defend, how you rebound, and also how you make sure to connect on low percentage shots.

The final score read 103-78 or something thereof. It was absolutely brutal for Mavericks fans to watch, but true gold if you follow this team from Indiana. Coming from the state of Hoosiers where the hardwood is as sacred as the gridiron in Texas it somehow made sense.

I remember telling a friend sitting next to me, 'Who are these guys? David West, Paul George, Roy Hibbert, and Tyler Hansbrough?' That was some display of execution to these eyes. Then another thought raced through my cranium.

THIS is a team that can take the Miami Heat to the limit in the playoffs...

With 5 games now in the books it looks like a no-brainer that Miami will close out Game 6 and prepare for a second Texas team in three years come June 6th. All that talent and experience this time of the year tends to take you to the promised land. Game 5 alone we witnessed a 19-4 run by the LeBron James led Heat. It didn't hurt to have Udonis Haslem go on the three spree en route to a 90-79 win in Florida. One of the few times in Dallas I can say 'LBJ-JFK' as in LeBron James...Just For Kicks!

I thought back to a post game interview Frank Vogel had with the media. What are the chances this sound bite will hold true on Saturday for Game 6 for the Indiana Pacers? What if Vogel and company find a way to dominate the paint, allow next to no turnovers, Hibbert, George, and West create mismatches that throw the tandem of James, Wade, and Haslem off? Even the hot shooting of Mark Miller if he returns to the lineup?

That's alot of 'What Ifs'.

Make no mistake-This Indiana Pacer team is primed and ready to be competitive for some time to come if the current pieces stay in place. Frank Vogel comes across as a players coach with a fiery disposition and no excuses approach. A perfect mix for Indiana.

Note how the Pacers controlled the tempo of the game until that foul that got Haslem and West jawing at one another. Mavericks fans can equate that to Game 3 2006 when Shaq put the elbow onto Dirk Nowitzki's mouth and a 2-0 lead was erased.

That verbal altercation...and LeBron James giving the fiery Baptist sermon like a possessed preacher was all the Heat needed to get their A game on. 16 3rd quarter points by LeBron was the leader, the dominator at his very best.

It's tough not to notice nor dislike. A Ruthian presence to borrow from a diamond comparison. We now go back to Indiana and see if the Pacers can do enough of the right things to get inside the mind of Erik Spoelstra and his Miami Heat squad. Chris Bosh not 100% with ankle trouble. Birdman suspended for a tough shove. To quote the very vocal Roy Hibbert there is a mission in place for the underdog as he conveyed to me.

The 2012-2013 Pacers are quickly discovering what it takes to hang with the big dog in the fight. If they can get past Game 6 and force a Game 7 then the San Antonio Spurs may want to issue a share of the earnings when they get past Miami in the NBA Finals.

March 28th the thought, and the seed was planted. A Hoosier team will make a Florida team sweat it out for a come playoff time. 

Over and out in Big D.

Mr. Will