Bosh out with an abdominal strain; Pacers chances increased??

[Who]

I think the Pacers-Heat matchup is fairly even without Bosh.

I'd give Miami's coaching staff the edge though and I think that will be the difference. Slim margin.

[Moranis]

I think the Pacers-Heat matchup is fairly even without Bosh.

I'd give Miami's coaching staff the edge though and I think that will be the difference. Slim margin.

I don't.  Lebron and Dwayne are still significantly better than anyone on Indiana.  In addition, Indiana doesn't really have anyone that can abuse Miami down low as Haslem can still guard West and pretty much anyone can guard Hibbert (who is very awkward offensively).  

The only pause I have is, Bosh hasn't missed much time in Miami so there will be an adjustment period (of course when he left game 1, the Heat were losing and then James and Wade just took over).  

I expect the games to be closer, but Miami should still win in 4/5, 6 games tops.  

[j804]

^still good news no, since no tear or anything?

Not really sounds like it was a major strain, which does linger the recovery time is typically a matter of weeks. It can be 2 weeks or it could be 4 or more.

Plus coming back to soon means you're almost certainly going to tweak it again at set yourself back to square one.

^still good news no, since no tear or anything?

do these things linger?

saw this on the livestrong website about abdominal strains

4. Return to Active Duty

If you're like most people, you might be impatient about returning to your normal activities. The length of time it takes to get rid of an abdominal strain depends on the severity of your injury as well as your response to treatment. Recovery may take weeks or months. A good way to determine if you are fully healed and is to be able to touch your toes or do a crunch without feeling any pain. Remember, returning to active duty too soon may result in straining your abdomen again, maybe worse than it was before.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/3498-need-abdominal-strain/

weeks or months sounds good to me ,I  would imagine he is out until at least game 6 or 7 of the pacers series

i don't wish injury on anybody but sounds fine with me 

[slamtheking]

I don't think Bosh's absense will make a major difference in favor of Indy.  Hibbert and West aren't showing they're taking their game to the next level in these playoffs.  Haslem and Anthony will most likely (unfortunately) hold the Indy bigs in check. 

I don't even see it as much of an advantage for Boston if they meet in the next round.  Haslem and Anthony are very active on the offensive boards and have had good games against the C's so far. 

[hwangjini_1]

anytime a team losses its third best player, its ability to win is diminished. too bad it wasnt lebron that was hurt, but given the injuries other teams have suffered, i have no sympathy for the heat.

i hope indy beats the heat and takes 7 games to do it, wearing themselves out in the process.

the only thing i want more than miami NOT winning the championship is the celtics winning it. 

[thestackshow]

LeBron and Wade are basically the same player.

Their role-players are terrible.

So a series without Bosh vs the Celtics would basically be LeBron and Wade taking contested fadeaway jumpers, and constantly driving into the lane to draw fouls.

They would have zero big men and outside of LeBron and Wade, no offensive threats...

[Senninsage]

The Pacers' chances have increased dramatically. Chris Bosh never gets the credit he deserves on that team. He's always doing the little things. Hitting the big shots that don't seem to get much attention next to Lebron and Wade's louder, more exciting baskets and on court heroics.

The Miami Heat cannot, I repeat, cannot win a championship without Chris Bosh. Even though Chris Bosh left that game early yesterday, he had already done significant damage to the Pacers. At a time when the Pacers were playing much better basketball, and were executing better, Bosh was there effectively keeping the Heat in that game early on at a time when things could have really gotten away from the Heat and took a turn for the incredibly ugly.

Bosh potentially being out any number of games can raise the risk tremendously for the Pacers to upset the Heat. I also think that it makes it far, far less likely that the Heat can beat the Celtics in a 7 game series. I won't say it's impossible, but it's far less likely. Bosh is the quiet savior of that Heat team that never seems to get the credit he deserves. I don't know for how long he'll be gone, or if this is just a non-story in the end, and he'll be back as healthy as ever, but this is very scary news for the Heat.

Their possibility of winning a championship without Chris Bosh is extremely slim. I just hope this doesn't lead the NBA to make even more questionable whistles for the likes of Wade and Lebron.

[esel1000]

lol no bosh celtics vs heat ecf, kg would average like 28

[colincb]

I don't think Bosh's absense will make a major difference in favor of Indy.  Hibbert and West aren't showing they're taking their game to the next level in these playoffs.  Haslem and Anthony will most likely (unfortunately) hold the Indy bigs in check.  

I don't even see it as much of an advantage for Boston if they meet in the next round.  Haslem and Anthony are very active on the offensive boards and have had good games against the C's so far.  

Maybe some other season, but not this year.  Their efficiency ratings against the Cs were 9.8 for Haslem and 4.5 for Anthony.  Each averaged under 2 ORBs per game. Haslem averaged 5 points and 7 rebounds per game and Anthony averaged 3 and 3.  Haslem's offensive game in particular has deserted him as he suffered a career low 42% shooting in 2011-12 compared to a career average of 50% in 8 seasons prior to this year.

[2short]

Pacers chances are better no matter how you argue.  The big ifs are Indy needs to pound the ball low and hibbert and west need to step up their games ala kg.  Every time Lebron drives to the lane tyler needs to pile drive him.  Lebron's game altered a bit and its anybody's series (without bosh)
couple side thoughts:
1. the schedule that stern put on the players this year due to lockout?  is this why it seems like there are so many injuries
2. even if miami wins and bosh can be back for next series, this is going to bother him 'til miami is done one way or the other

[BudweiserCeltic]

What killed the Pacers was the West-Hansbrough unit which were terrible rebounding together, particularly Tyler. They need better work from him rebounding.

[lightspeed5]

KG was killing bosh in april....

anyone remember bosh's 4 pt and 1 rebound performance?

[RyNye]

This hurts the Heat offensively, but honestly probably helps them defensively. Bosh is not a terribly good defender, Anthony and Turiaf are better anyway.

[Fafnir]

This hurts the Heat offensively, but honestly probably helps them defensively. Bosh is not a terribly good defender, Anthony and Turiaf are better anyway.

No sir, no they are not.

Bosh's superior quickness and length make him a much bigger impact defender than Anthony/Turiaf. Plus he's a better defensive rebounder than either of those two.

[j804]

This just means LeBron and Wade go nuts and live at the free throw line, how many Pacers you guys got fouling out?

It'll probably work in the Heats favor in this series but not against better teams and on throughout the playoffs plus they'll wear down eventually