Miami Heat

Vander Blue has watched his friend and mentor Wesley Matthews beat the odds to succeed in the NBA, gaining a starting role with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Vinny Del Negro is out as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers after a season in which the team won its first division title but lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Vinny Del Negro is out as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers after their first-round playoff exit.

Amare Stoudemire will go into next season with $45 million left on his contract and no guarantee of a starting job.

Setting the stage for the Eastern Conference Finals with looks at how the Miami HEAT and Indiana Pacers will post, shoot and defend according to their unique philosophies.

May 18, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) blocks a shot by New York Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith (8) in game six of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.The Pacers won 106-99. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports Man, can the Indiana Pacers can defend. They gave up only 90.7 points per game during the regular season, good for second-best in the NBA.  Their opponents only shoot 42% from the field, the best defensive field goal rate in the NBA, and they averaged 6.3 blocks per game, tied for fourth-best in the NBA. However, for all their defensive prowess, the Indiana Pacers suck at scoring (and you kind’ve need to score to win games). The Pacers were 23rd in the NBA in points per game and 28th in assists per game.  The Pacers shot 43.6% from the field — by comparison, the Washington Wizards shot 43.5% and the Cleveland Cavaliers shot 43.4%.  In addition, the Pacers turned the ball over 15.1 times per game tied for fourth in the NBA with the Washington Wizards and the Detroit Pistons. Simply put, these Pacers have one of the best defenses in the NBA — and one of the worst offenses in the NBA.  And while they might be able to shut down the Miami Heat for a quarter — maybe even a half — they won’t be able to shut down Miami’s explosive offense (which scored an NBA-best 110 points per 100 possessions) for an entire game.  And when Miami is able to score or even take the lead, where will Indiana’s scoring come from? If you take a look at the Pacers’ shot chart from this season, they have shot better than 40% from two spots — right underneath the freakin’ basket (and even from there the Pacers are almost missing as many shots as they make) and mid-range foul line jumpers where they are shooting barely more than 40%. And if the Pacers ever have to play catchup with the Miami Heat (which they will probably have to at some point in this series), Indiana is simply mediocre from three point range.  In none of the three point areas do they shoot more than 40% and from the left corner three area, they only shoot 34% (they make only one shot out of every three they take). No doubt, the Heat will have trouble scoring against the Pacers.  The Indiana Pacers have an elite shot blocker in Roy Hibbert and a good perimeter defender in Lance Stephenson.  But the Pacers simply have trouble scoring — and when the Heat are able to put up points (which they inevitably will do), how will the Pacers keep up? The Indiana Pacers’ Shot Chart from the 2012-2013 Regular Season

Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

The extended break before the start of the Eastern Conference finals has allowed ample time for all the ancillary issues to be pushed aside, the talk of respect, the recap of last season's bad blood between the teams.

Bryan Colangelo is still president of the Toronto Raptors, but he's no longer the club's general manager.

Dwyane Wade watched Kevin Durant against Memphis, and it was like watching a flailing man drown, wave after wave crashing upon him until he had no breath to give. Durant averaged 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists per game in the series that ended his season. Those were not merely better than the averages Durant posted in this, the best regular season of his young life. Those were not merely better averages than the ones that just won LeBron James his fourth NBA MVP award. Those were better averages than the ones that represent Michael Jordan's entire career. But Durant's season is over now, and Wade watched it happen through what felt like a rearview mirror.