Call this the calm before the storm. The Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat will have some sort of a warmup this Friday before their battle in the first round of the playoffs. With their records all tied up, the winner of this game will have a better record once everything is said and done in these seeding games in Orlando.
Despite their 116-115 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, the Heat looked primed and ready for the playoffs. Goran Dragic started for the Heat in the OKC game and fired 16 points and dished out six assists, while rookie Tyler Herro put up 30 points in 38 minutes. The rookie Herro is playing like a veteran, at least in terms of poise, as he’s shown he can handle the pressure in a playoff-caliber team. If the loss to the Thunder was any indication of how much Jimmy Butler will play this Friday, then it seems he’ll have a light workload, as he only played 16 minutes, scoring seven points and grabbing five rebounds. However, this is another chance for Butler to assert his dominance over TJ Warren and the Heat before facing them again in the first round of the playoffs. Butler had 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and four steals in the Heat’s 114-92 win over Indiana last Monday.
Everybody wants to see TJ Warren and Jimmy Butler, but we probably just have to wait for the playoffs for that matchup again. Warren is reportedly dealing with a foot issue that’s not serious but can be a reason for the Pacers to keep him from playing on Friday. Warren already missed Wednesday’s 108-104 win over the Houston Rockets in which Justin Holiday and Myles Turner each scored 18 points. Turner has to step up in the next game against Miami, as he only had nine points and three turnovers in the last date with the Heat. Holiday, who played 26 minutes in the Houston game, could get major minutes again if Warren gets rested this Friday. Holiday played just 18 minutes and scores seven points in the loss to the Heat.
The Pacers are 7-2-1 against the spread in their last 10 games.
