LeBron James and the Miami Heat are four wins away from returning to the NBA Finals for the third straight year. The Indiana Pacers, meanwhile, must topple a powerhouse if they want to make their first ever franchise appearance in the finals. Miami hosts Indiana for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday night.
Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT. Watch it live HERE.
The Chicago series showed that Miami isn't invincible. While Miami is the overwhelming favorite to win the game, the Pacers take heart in having taken Miami to six games before losing in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals.
"I think it will be a good series," Pacers forward Paul George told AP reporters. "Obviously, we remember what happened last year and it will be on our mind when we face this team. We're not just happy to get to this stage, we want to get past this one, too."
Getting past this round would be uncharted territory for the Pacers franchise, which has never reached the Finals. Even the conference finals are new ground for most of the team. Only one player on the Pacers has ever played in a conference final, according to the Associated Press. That one player, Ian Mahinmi, only has 71 seconds of experience to offer his young team.
Miami, by contrast, is loaded with experience. James, Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem all have five trips to the conference finals under their belts, and Ray Allen has four.
It'll fall on George to contain James, the reigning league MVP. It won't be an easy match up, either. James is averaging 24 points per game, 7.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists this postseason.
"He has to do the same kind of thing he did on Carmelo (Anthony)," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said of George, who guarded Anthony in the last round. "He has to come out and compete the best he can and do it without fouling."
James, meanwhile, is just hungry to get back on the court. He doesn't need any other motivation than the chance at a second Finals trophy.
"It's been go time," James told reporters. "Since the playoffs started, it's been go time."
