2012 NBA Playoffs

Indianapolis, IN

Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird believed his team backed down from the physicality of Game 5, allowing the Miami Heat to claim a 115-83 victory and more importantly a 3-2 series edge in their Eastern Conference showdown.

Bird, who was recently named the NBA's Executive of the Year after turning the Pacers into a legit title contender, voiced his frustration not only about Indiana's blowout loss at the hands of the Heat and his team's tentativeness to engage in a highly-physical ballgame.

"I can't believe my team went soft. S-O-F-T," Bird told the Indianapolis Star Tuesday night. "I'm disappointed. I never thought it would happen." Bird told ESPN Tuesday. "That's all I have to say."

Aside from the injury suffered by Danny Granger (sprained left ankle) and (sprained left knee), Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough and Lance Stephenson were victims of hard fouls from Udonis Haslem and Dexter Pittman during the game

Haslem was suspended for Game 6 after hacking Hansbrough in the first half, while Pittman will sit down for three games after driving his elbow towards Stephenson's neck in the second half.

The Pacers still have a chance at winning the series but they have to unleash their fiercer and meaner selves against the Heat in Thursday's Game 6 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

"I've been with Larry since I've been in Indiana for seven years." "He's not been one to hold his tongue, and 99 percent of the time what he's saying is right. I think he just called out what everyone else saw. We played a soft game. We didn't play with the playoff intensity that we needed to win," Granger told ESPN Wednesday.

 

 

For The Birds: Pacers Exec Doesn't Like Team's 'Soft' Play