Dave Hyde: Too young? Too soon? Not this series, as Heat's youth should take Pacers in six
The question gets buried under the one-sided build-up. So every ESPN analyst, all 17 of them, picks the Miami Heat to beat Indiana this playoff series. Only two even have it going the distance of seven games.
The question also gets lost amid the relative facts like the Heat won three of their four regular-season games and the Pacers are missing All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis. Take an All-Star off any mid-level NBA team and its world tilts down.
All that’s why the Heat in six games seems not just doable this series but sellable. They’re not just a little better; they’re a lot tougher. Aren’t they? Isn’t that the essence of what Jimmy Butler shouted downcourt to T.J. Warren in their regular-season throwdown?
But there’s this, too: The very thing that makes the Heat so fun and fresh and everyone’s pick this series makes them a bit of wild card on the edge of this moment, too. This team Pat Riley built isn’t like any playoff team he’s ever built.
