Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The second round shows how far away the Heat are from competing

It was a hard, frustrating season for the Heat faithful because their crew stunk and was drawn and quartered in four games by the Cavaliers. Round two, which has featured only prosperity for the visitors, also shows how far away they are from the serious teams.

The Cleveland-Indiana series kicked off Sunday with Darius Garland (toe) out for the former. That version of the Cavaliers trashed Kaseya Center by a combined 92 points. Then the Pacers outplayed them and claimed Game 1 in Cleveland as Tyrese Haliburton was the best player late, hunting down Jarrett Allen for a deep jumper and blow-by on the right side.

The Pacers seized one of the most memorable playoff wins of the last five years two nights later. One side will remember it as a breakthrough performance and the other as a nightmare that possibly ended their season.

The Pacers looked like they were going to blow their golden opportunity because they showed up playing with less force, almost expecting the wounded Cavs to surrender. Evan Mobley (ankle), Garland (toe) and De’Andre Hunter (thumb) were absent, but Mitchell was dragging his crew with a superhero discharge reminiscent of LeBron James’ last ride with Cleveland in 2018.

The guests were down 17 in the late third quarter and didn’t yield because they have high basketball character and one of the league’s brightest stars as the lead decision-maker.

The short-staffed Cavs had chances to get away as they were up seven with 48 seconds left, but their night ended with Haliburton hitting a 24-foot step-back game-winning triple in Ty Jerome’s face. The series is now 2-0, shifting to Indiana.

There’s not much coach Kenny Atkinson can tell his team after that. Times have changed, but perhaps he should listen to coach Paul Westphal’s public comments after the ‘93 Suns fell 2-0 at home and won the series in five after he guaranteed it.

Here’s the difference between the Heat and Pacers. The latter’s star player has a rare takeover ability, and his supporting cast of Rottweilers can defend up top and below. The Heat has two nice players in Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, but they aren’t at that level of shot creation plus the outfit around them is unready and not talented enough to stay out of the Play-In Tournament.

Only teams with stars do anything unforgettable. The Pacers are on the verge of becoming the NBA’s biggest spoilers.  Remember when that was the Heat two and five years ago?

But what about the differences between the Cavs and the Heat? Simplifying things: they are Air Force One at full strength, and the Heat is a commercial airliner. Additionally, Cleveland’s Game 2 loss is a perfect example: Mitchell was an unstoppable force and Max Strus plus Allen had big-time contributions. Jimmy Butler was the last person who wore Heat colors and could carry inferior players. On top of that, Butler was also instrumental in helping the Warriors, his new team, defeat the hosting Timberwolves on Tuesday while Stephen Curry left early in the second quarter with a hamstring strain.

 The Heat will only take the next step when they find someone else to handle the responsibilities of being the guy. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll find someone who can also get their offense into triggers quicker to exploit Adebayo’s athleticism to the highest power.

Being a cute team is not enough for the hardest-working, best-conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA.