Who will represent the East in the NBA Finals?

Paul George is leading the charge for Indiana

With the second half of the NBA season beginning a few weeks ago, the push to the playoffs are beginning. Teams are starting to separate themselves from contender to pretender. This is more prevalent in the NBA's Eastern Conference, where there are two teams fighting for supremacy. Those two teams are the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat.

At the NBA trade deadline, the Miami Heat did not make any deals, while the Indiana Pacers did. The Pacers traded long time vet Danny Granger to the Philadelphia 76ers and in return they got guard Evan Turner and forward Lavoy Allen.

The Pacers felt the need to make this move to stay in competition with the Miami Heat, who are the two-time defending NBA champs. To begin the month of March, the Indiana Pacers are in first place in the Eastern conference. On the other hand, the Miami Heat are two games behind Indiana.

With that being said, I think that the Indiana Pacers will represent the East in the NBA Finals. I know this has been a sexy pick this season but for good reason. The Pacers give the Heat problems especially with the likes of Roy Hibbert and David West down low in the post. Don't forget all-star Paul George has elevated his game to another level. Talking about Paul George, he is averaging 22.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game this season. PG24 is definitely in consideration for MVP.

Another reason why I think the Pacers will represent the East is because they are younger than the Heat. The Heat are getting up there in age. We have already seen this season Dwayne Wade sitting out multiple games at a time due to injuries. You also have to question how much do Shane Battier, Chris Andersen, and Ray Allen have left in the tank. Do these three role players have enough to make another long NBA Finals run? I'm not too sure about that.

Finally, I think that this will be a long seven game series that is a heavyweight boxing match. Just like the Pacers said last season, if Game 7 was in Indiana, it would have been different. Well if the standings hold to form, then they will have home court advantage going into a pivotal Game 7.