Miami Heat Vs. Indiana Pacers

Miami Heat(53-25)

@

Indiana Pacers(54-25)

7:30 

Miami,FL

American Airlines Arena

Coverage on Sun Sports, FSIN, and NBAtv

Miami Heat Starting Lineup:
PG:Mario Chalmers
SG:Toney Douglas
SF:LeBron James
PF:Chris Bosh
C:Udonis Haslem

Heat Inactive List:
Dwyane Wade(hamstring), Greg Oden(back spasms),

Indiana Pacers Starting Lineup;
PG:Geroge Hill
SG:Lance Stephenson
SF:Paul George
PF:David West
C:Roy Hibbert

Pacers Inactive List:
Andrew Bynum(knee) and Solomon Hill(inactive)

Tonight the Miami Heat are playing a struggling Indiana Pacers team who have lost 12 out of their last 20 games. After the Heat lost a couple weeks ago in Indiana the quest for the #1 seed for Miami seemed all but out of the question, but the Pacers have recently struggled mightily. Despite their recent struggles the Pacers have a half a game lead over the Heat for the best record in the East. The Pacers have been playing horrible basketball as of late, which has caused some friction among key players, who have been arguing on and off the floor. Their lackluster play was highlighted last Sunday during a blowout 107-88 lost against the Atlanta Hawks, in which the Pacers offense was a complete no show, as they only put up 23 points in the opening half. Indiana's last win came against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday by a score of 104-102, in a game in which head coach Frank Vogel sat out his fatigued and bickering starters. Miami is also dealing with their own problems, which include the constant changing of starting lineups and several injuries to players . Dwyane Wade(hamstring), Greg Oden(back spasms), Ray Allen( stomach flu), Udonis Haslem(stomach virus), and Chris Andersen(knee,back and ankle soreness) have all have missed some time within the last couple weeks for the Heat, due to injury.
Miami have lost 3 out of their last 4 games, which include losses to the Timberwolves, Nets, and Grizzles. Despite the struggles of the Heat, they were leading in the East for about a week until the Pacers won and the Heat lost versus Memphis on Wednesday, giving Indiana a half a game lead heading into tonight's much anticipated game. With 4 games remaining for the Heat and 3 games remaining for the Pacers, the winner of tonight's game is pretty much going to own the best record of the Eastern Conference heading into the postseason. Hopefully the Heat can claw their way through this playoff style game, to grab a win against the rival Indiana Pacers in front of their home crowd; as they get set to tip-off at the American Airlines in Miami, FL  in roughly 30 min. It is ironic that a matchup between Heat Vs. Pacers is most likely the most important game of the regular season for both the back-to-back championship Miami Heat and the East heavy weight Indiana Pacers.