Heat Pacers Summary

Best Player: Lebron James (Individual +39). The best thing about watching Lebron in this series had to be the passing displays he put on the last 3 games. Even as a high schooler, his passing ability stood out as sublime. Well, even if his career's development has been more MJ than Magic, he continues to prove that, when in command of all his abilities, he's a one man wrecking crew.
Worst Player: Leandro Barbosa (Individual -26). This is less a reflection on Leandro, and more likely a reflection of a current chink in the Pacers' collective armor. As a great defensive team, they'll likely be in most games even in the playoffs, but at a certain point, someone has to take the reins and find a bucket in crunch time. When looking at the similar plus/minus numbers for Darren Collison, it's clear that this was a problem, particularly for the 2nd unit.
Most Valuable Player: Roy Hibbert (Net +44). Much like Marc Gasol last year, his seems pre-destined to be the summer contract that raises a few skeptical eyebrows. Well, if you look at Roy's numbers compared to the best centers in the league over the last 3 years (Howard, M. Gasol, Bynum, Chandler), he gives you slightly less production, fewer minutes per game, but more actual games played. And those other 4 guys are currently on contracts that average $15.7 million per year. So a 5 year / $60 million deal ($12 million per) doesn't seem that crazy to me.
Least Valuable Player: Dwyane Wade (Net -20). Whether it was nagging injuries, difficult defensive matchups (like Paul George), or some other reason, this was not D-Wade's best series. One thing I don't understand... with the Thunder, the national media seem to obsess about the shot count of Durant versus Westbrook, presuming that since Durant is the better player, he has to take more shots for the team to play better. Given the utter dominance Lebron is submitting, shouldn't we be doing the same thing for the Heat?
Reverse Jerome James Award: Danny Granger. It feels like Rudy Gay, Andre Iguodala, Danny Granger, Pau Gasol, Josh Smith, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Bosh should start a support group called "I'm Not the Scapegoat Everytime." Is Granger one of the best 15 players in the NBA? No. Is he better than Kevin Durant, Lebron James, or Carmelo Anthony? No. That's because those are arguably the three best scorers in the NBA. The Pacers aren't trying to win a superstar arms race. They're trying to build the Spurs East. You don't hear the Spurs complaining that Tony Parker isn't as good as Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook or Steve Nash. They know he's a cog in a machine, and the machine wins or loses on more than one guy's contribution. Maybe Pacers fans should try that next season.