LeBron James did deliver for the Miami Heat and was brilliant in games four and five against the Indiana Pacers. In game four in Indiana he had a game high 40 points, along with nine assist, two steals, 18 rebounds and two blocks. Game five at home saw LeBron with a game high 30 points, eight assists, one steal, 10 rebounds and a block. Dwyane Wade assisted brilliantly in both games coming up with 30 points and six assists in game four and 25 points and two assists in game five. Udonis Haslem and Shane Battier also provided assistance.

The Heat is battling a physical Pacers team led by Roy Hibbert, David West and Danny Granger. These three players have given the Heat nightmare in the paint and on the boards. A series that started out with a few hard fouls have escalated into an all out physical battle, but the Heat have won the physical battles in the last two encounters.

Meanwhile, in the other Eastern Conference semi-final the Boston Celtics are battling hard to win the series over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Spurs vs. OKC in Western Conference final

The San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder will meet in the Western Conference final. The Spurs swept the Los Angeles Clippers 4-0 and remain unbeaten (8-0) in the post season. While the Thunder also made light work of the Los Angeles Lakers capturing the series 4-1. The Thunder are 8-1 in the post season.

The Spurs and Thunder are considered by many as the two best NBA teams and the final should provide great entertainment. The Spurs are considered favorites to win this series, but I predict a 4-2 series win for the Thunder.

Once again, Miami Heat fans will be hoping that MVP LeBron James can hold off the Indiana Pacers challenge, when the shorthanded Heat do battle with the more physical Pacers in the remaining games.

Can King James deliver? This is the question many are asking. LeBron has played over 42 minutes in both games and has led the team in points (32 and 28), rebounds (15 and 9), assist (5 and 5) and steals (2 and 6). But even with this performance, he will still require more support from his team mates. Dywane Wade has stepped up his performance and has given LeBron some support on the offensive end with 29 and 24 points in both games respectively.

The Heat's real problem is competing with the size of the Pacers and breaking down their half court defense. The Pacers out-rebounded the Heat in game two and managed to keep the Heat out of the paint, which forced the Heat into contested jump shots. Plus the Heat also lost forward Chris Bosh to a lower abdominal injury in game one. Without Bosh, the Heat will have no established inside low post presence.

Head Coach Erik Spoelstra and his coaching staff failed during the regular season to develop the growth of the Heat's point guards and to adjust when playing against teams with size advantage and emphasis on zone defense. Spoelstra has not settled on a playoff rotation this series, preferring to keep the ball in the hands of LeBron and Wade. It's now too late for any major offensive adjustment. The overworked LeBron, with the assistance of Dywane Wade, will have to grind out wins. Once again LeBron has been thrown into the lion's den, depended on to win a championship with a poorly prepared team or face criticism questioning his every decision in close games.

The Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks 4-1 to move into the semi-finals of the Eastern conference playoffs where they will face the Indiana Pacers on Sunday May 13. Game 5 ended 106-94

The Knicks previously avoided a series 4-0 sweep thanks to a strong performance at home in game four from superstar forward Carmelo Anthony, who scored a game high 41 points. Carmelo's effort carried the Knicks to an 89-87 win.

Meanwhile the third seed Indiana Pacers defeated the Orlando Magic 4-1 to also move to the semi finals in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers have played well throughout the series and should not be taken lightly.

Also in the Eastern Conference first round series, both the Atlanta Hawks and the Eastern Conference number one seed Chicago Bulls managed to avoid game five eliminations on home court. The Hawks scored a close 87-86 over the Boston Celtics to force a game six in Boston. Chicago also had to dig deep to score its 77-69 victory over Philadelphia 76ers and force a game six meeting in Philadelphia.

A fired up LeBron James led the Miami Heat to a 3-0 lead over rivals New York Knicks in the first round of to the Eastern Conference playoffs. Apparently, the Heat was so hot in game two that it led Knicks' superstar Amar'e Stoudemire to punch the glass casing of a fire extinguisher. All Amar'e accomplished was a serious laceration to his left hand, an injury that is most likely to be series-ending. Amar'e's actions have left his team with little hope of surviving a 4-0 sweep by the Heat. It will take a miracle for New York to win. Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler will have to perform a miracle to prevent "The Big Three" from totally embarrassing the Knicks.

In other first round playoff news from the Eastern Conference, top seed Chicago Bulls' title hopes took a major hit when 2011 MVP Derrick Rose tore his ACL at the end of game one against the Philadelphia 76ers. Rose will be out for the remainder of the season. With the series locked at 1-1, the Bulls will have to dig deep to withstand the young 76ers team. However the Bulls should still prevail.