Heat-Pacers Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

My Prediction Was: Heat in 5.

Best Plus Minus: Lebron James (+28 in 303 minutes). What is there to say? The most impressive thing about James in this series had to be the variety of defensive assignments. There aren't many players walking the planet that can credibly match up with Paul George and David West on consecutive possessions, but that's the kind of thing he's capable of doing. Against the Spurs, I'm guessing Parker will get to see this defensive versatility first-hand, a la Derrick Rose in the 2011 playoffs. 

Worst Plus Minus: D.J. Augustin (-62 in 98 minutes). The second unit of the Pacers had very little success against the Heat, and Augustin was not set up for success against the larger, long-armed, athletic point guard tandem of Miami (Chalmers and Cole). In his defense, the units without West, Hibbert, or George had very little chance of generating easy offense, while missing the core of the team's defensive identity inside.

Most Valuable Player: Lance Stephenson (Net +40 in 264 minutes). For two of the three playoff series this year, the Pacers' best player in my net plus/minus has been Lance Stephenson. It always sounded a little strange when All-Star caliber guys like Hibbert and George talked about how important it was to get Lance going, but they clearly know this team way better than everyone else. There's an almost Westbrook-like flair to his reckless pushes in transition, and his fearless instigation of virtually every opposing player within earshot. He's not the same talent as Westbrook, but he clearly serves the same role as the edge / X-factor for his team. Hopefully, OKC's struggles this spring have driven home the point that, for better or worse, some players are more than the sum of their raw box score numbers.

Least Valuable Player: Dwyane Wade (Net -21 in 264 minutes). Wade's likely physical struggles have been well documented, and apparently with good reason. It'll be interesting to see him matched up against Ginobli, a player with a similar perceptible decline in production relative to reputation. 

Jerome James Award: None.