Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers Prediction: Expect a win for the home team

Ahead of the final meeting between Miami and Indiana in this championship, the score in the season series is 2:1 in favor of the Pacers.

The Heat is playing their usual defensive game this season. And it should be said that it brings the team a good result - so far, the team from Florida is sixth in the Eastern Conference, which means, at the moment, they are in the playoffs directly.

The team is doing well throughout the league. However, the Heat's recent games were not the best, allowing three losses in four. It should be noted, however, that their losing streak was part of a tough road trip. Additionally, after losing to Charlotte (117:122), New York (106:104), and Milwaukee (115:123), Miami was able to beat Cleveland (100:97), their best defense of the season.

The Pacers, who lost ten of 11 games in the second half of January after Tyrese Haliburton was injured, continue to underperform after their star point guard returned to the floor - two losses in three games. First, Indiana failed to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers (111:112), then they beat Sacramento (107:104), narrowly missing their double-digit handicap, and then lost to Cleveland by 19 points - 103:122. Surprisingly, during that stretch, Indiana's offense didn't work at all. It would seem, though, that its biggest star was back. However, Haliburton, who missed quite a bit, still needs to find his form.

The second half of the season has begun, and now the teams that have a shot at something will pick up wins, while the teams that bounced back in the first half will start falling further down the standings. Indiana belongs to the second group - Rick Carlyle's team had an excellent start to the current championship. Still, starting from about the middle of January, they stopped winning altogether, except on defense, having problems on offense. Miami also has problems on offense, but one of the best defenses in the league makes up for it. We're betting on the Heat to win the game.