Eastern Conference Finals
Game 1
Tip-off: Wednesday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Miami -8, Total: 182.5

Indiana is looking to steal Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals when it travels to Miami on Wednesday night.

In the conference semifinals, the Pacers won a hard-fought, six-game battle against the Knicks, while the Heat beat up on a depleted Bulls team in five games. These clubs are meeting for the second straight season in the playoffs, with Miami taking that second-round series in six games. Since then, these teams have met three times with the home team winning and covering each contest. Indiana won 87-77 on Jan. 8 and 102-89 on Feb. 1, and lost 105-91 in Miami on March 10. The Pacers have not been a good road team this season at 21-25 SU (22-24 ATS), which includes a 7-17 ATS mark (29%) when they visit a winning team. Miami, on the other hand, is 41-5 SU (89%) at home this season, but just 24-22 ATS at AmericanAirlines Arena. However, this club is an insane 45-3 SU (94%) and 31-17 ATS (65%) in its past 48 games since Feb. 3. But the long rest might be more beneficial to the Pacers who are 5-2 ATS with at least three off-days, as opposed to the Heat, who are just 3-4 ATS in this scenario, allowing 99.9 PPG in these seven contests.

Will the Pacers keep the score close in Game 1, or will the Heat roll to another victory? For the answer, connect to NBA Playoffs Best Bets for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2013 postseason. For NBA Playoff Best Bets, StatFox Gary is 86% ATS (6-1) since May 9 and 57% ATS (16-12) for the entire playoffs, while StatFox Brian is 70% ATS (7-3) since May 9 and 56% ATS (19-15) for the entire playoffs. Brian is also 56% ATS (14-11) since May 4 for all postseason picks. For NBA Totals, Gary is a stellar 64% (16-9-1) on all playoff Totals, while StatFox Scott is 73% (8-3) in Totals since May 6 to increase his postseason mark to 57% (13-10-2).

The Pacers got by the Knicks with a balanced attack that was led by SF Paul George. George is averaging 19.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 5.0 APG in these playoffs, but he is shooting just 40.4% FG. Despite George's heroics against New York (19.5 PPG in series), it was SG Lance Stephenson who made the difference for Frank Vogel’s squad in the clincher with his career-high 25 points (9-of-13 FG) in Game 6 while also grabbing 10 rebounds. This was quite a surprise considering he's averaging 9.8 PPG (44% FG) and 8.1 RPG in the playoffs. C Roy Hibbert averaged a double-double (13.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 3.2 BPG) versus the Knicks and is averaging 14.0 PPG and 9.6 RPG and 2.5 BPG in the playoffs. Hibbert was a huge presence for Indiana defensively too, as he recorded 3.2 blocks per game against New York. PG George Hill (15.6 PPG, 4.4 APG, 4.2 RPG in playoffs) suffered a concussion in the East semifinals, but after missing Game 5 due to lack of medical clearance, he bounced back in Game 6 with a solid 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. PF David West was consistent against the Knicks with 14.7 PPG and 7.8 RPG and scored 17 points in each of the final two games of the series.

The Heat were fortunate to play the East semifinals against a Bulls team that was without not only Derrick Rose, but also Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich. Miami lost Game 1 at home and it seemed like the club was in for a scare, but it responded by winning the next four games of the series. So far in these playoffs, SF LeBron James has been absolutely dominant for the Heat, averaging 24.0 PPG (52% FG), 7.3 RPG, 7.3 APG and 1.7 SPG. In last year's playoffs, James lit up Indiana for 30.0 PPG (50% FG), 10.8 RPG and 6.2 APG in the six-game series. SG Dwyane Wade has really struggled so far in the postseason, however, which could be due to a lingering knee injury. Wade is averaging just 13.0 PPG (45% FG) in 32.9 MPG, which is down considerably from his 21.2 PPG on 52% FG during the regular season. He did have 18 points (7-of-13 FG) in Game 5 after having netting six points (3-of-10 FG) in Game 4. The Heat are going to need PF Chris Bosh to play well this series, as the Pacers have a ton of size down low. Bosh has averaged just 13.2 PPG so far in the postseason and will need to be more effective than that if the Heat are going to get by a tough Pacers squad. Bosh has done a nice job on the glass though with 8.3 RPG, a big increase from his 6.8 RPG during the regular season.