NBA: Preseason Fact And Fiction

October 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors center Festus Ezeli (31) is congratulated by guard Andre Iguodala (9) and guard Stephen Curry (30) for recording a block against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

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May 30, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) drives to the basket as Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) defends in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Last year’s Eastern Conference Finalists will struggle

In the course of one offseason, two Eastern Conference Finals regulars were quickly dismantled. The Indiana Pacers lost Lance Stephenson to the Charlotte Hornets and Paul George’s leg went all wishbone on him during a nationally televised Team USA scrimmage. As for the Miami Heat, they lost LeBron James, the best basketball player on the planet. So yeah, not good.

Miami rebounded about as well as they could have, adding Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger while keeping Chris Bosh from bolting for Houston. But McRoberts is injured, it’s only a matter of time before Granger’s injured, Bosh hasn’t been a 20-10 guy in years and Dwyane Wade has to be 100 percent. So far in the preseason, we’ve seen flashes of Flash, but the Heat are still 3-4 and the role players don’t look comfortable. The Pacers are 2-4 and have the seventh lowest scoring offense in the preseason so far. Are these two former Eastern powerhouses in trouble this year?

Verdict: Faction

Yes and no. Both of these teams still have a shot at making the playoffs by virtue of playing in the Eastern Conference, but they also are destined for major regression this year. Miami has a decent starting five, but they rely too heavily on bench contributions from guys like Granger and Udonis Haslem to still be a contender. Even murderous looks from David West on a nightly basis won’t keep Indiana truly competitive and for all of Roy Hibbert’s verticality, the Pacers are taking a horizontal step backward in 2014-15. Miami will make the playoffs, but Indiana probably won’t, so this one is faction.

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