NBA Playoffs 2014: Miami Heat Still Favored To Win Eastern Conference Finals; Pacers Center Roy Hibbert Looks To Dominate Small Heat Frontline
The NBA Playoffs 2014 is nearly over with only four teams left standing. The defending champs, Miami Heat, are still favored to win the Eastern Conference Finals against its rival, Indiana. Meanwhile, Pacers center Roy Hibbert looks to dominate the small frontline of the Heat.
The blog site AllYouCanHeat reported that Miami Heat are 6/5 odds on favorites to win the title, followed by the San Antonio Spurs at 11/5, Oklahoma City Thunder - 3/1 and finally the Indiana Pacers 10/1, which tapered off heading toward the NBA Playoffs 2014 after a blazing start of the season.
Betonline, meanwhile, has the Indiana Pacers at +125 and the Miami Heat at -145.
However, USA Today sports columnist Jeff Zillgitt insisted that it's wrong to discount the Indiana Pacers against the Miami Heat because for one, they hold the number 1 seed and thus, homecourt advantage for the whole NBA Playoffs 2014 in the Eastern Conference; and another thing is Pacers center Roy Hibbert.
"If there's one team that could galvanize and re-energize Hibbert, it's the Heat. They don't have the size to match up with the 7-2 All-Star, and he has played some of his best and most memorable games in the playoffs against the Heat,"
Pacers center Roy Hibbert has played horribly in the first and second rounds against the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards, respectively. But last year, during the conference finals against the Heat, he averaged a dominant 22.1 points and 10.4 rebounds and 1 block.
NBA Playoffs 2014 Eastern Conference series schedule:
Game 1: Sunday, May 18 at Miami, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 2: Tuessday, May 20 at Miami, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 3: Saturday, May 24 at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 4: Monday, May 26 at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 5: Wednesday, May 28 at Miami, 8:30 p.m. ET*, ESPN
Game 6: Friday, May 30 at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. ET*, ESPN
Game 7: Sunday, June 1 at Miami, 8:30 p.m. ET*, ESPN
