Tomorrow, the two teams kick off another seven-game series, this time in the Eastern Conference finals. Some of the context is the same. The Heat, now defending champions, are favored again and possess the home-court advantage. The series boasts Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Eric Spoelstra versus Roy Hibbert, Paul George, and Frank Vogel. And like last year, the overblown “war of words” has begun.

But as we would expect, there are differences this time around, too. Here are a few of the main ones:

1. The Danny Granger injury. The Pacers have been so productive without him that’s it’s easy to forget that they’re playing without their best scorer from a year ago. Granger didn’t have a great series against the Heat last year, but he did take up a lot of attention from Lebron James and the Heat, attention that this year will probably go toward the Paul George.

It will be interesting to see what kind of role the Miami Heat’s Ray Allen plays in the NBA Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers.

2. The health of Chris Bosh. Last year, as you may recall, the Heat’s center and part of “the big three,” Chris Bosh missed most of the series with an injury. It definitely made things more interesting, but the Heat were able to get enough contributions from elsewhere to get the job done. Unless something changes, Bosh will be healthy this year. Against the Chicago Bulls, Bosh played a lot of minutes, scored in double digits in every game except one, and shot four for eight from three-point range. But that doesn’t mean he can guard Roy Hibbert. The two are very different kinds of players, and it should be interesting to watch.

3. The presence of Ray Allen. A year ago, Allen was preparing to take on the Heat as a member of the Boston Celtics. This time around, he plays for the Heat. Let’s be honest, Allen isn’t what he used to but he can still shoot the rock. He averages double figures in points on 40% shooting from 3-point land. Insert that kind of specialty into a lineup with the likes of James, Wade, and Bosh, and you’ve got all sorts of problems defensively.

4. No more Larry Bird. Last year, the Indiana legend and then-Pacers President of Basketball Operations made headlines by challenging the Pacers toughness late in the series against the Heat. He then departed from the organization after the season’s end. It remains to be seen whether the absence of pressure he created will be good or bad for the team.

5. Numbers-one-through-four on this list could suggest an advantage for the Heat, but the Pacers are better than they were a year ago. Their youth is further along in their development. They’ve showcased that fact at times during the playoffs, especially in dismantling the higher-seeded New York Knicks in six games. George and Lance Stephenson, among others, are much improved. During the regular season, the Pacers beat the Heat two out of three times, largely by dominating in the paint. But obviously these games mean more. Are the Pacers ready for the big-time? We will see soon enough.

May 7, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George (24) takes a shot over New York Knicks small forward Chris Copeland (14) during the first half in game two of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers burst out of the gate shooting over %50 from the field. Seemingly a great start however they also had seven turnovers and for several minutes no one except Paul George and George Hill hit anything. The Pacers have been a strong team that used all of it’s players and they didn’t start the game that way. They didn’t start playing their style and the score reflected it. At the end of the first quarter they were down by nine.

Throughout the rest of the half the Indiana Pacers had moments where they looked like they were getting poised to get back into the game. The control seemed to lean towards the Pacers side a few times but they never could get command of the game. They couldn’t seem to get all of their players playing with a consistent level of intensity. The New York Knicks on the other hand were coming at them full speed. At the end of the first half the Indiana Pacers still hadn’t found their rhythm as a team and they hadn’t been able to stop New York. They had 12 turnovers compared to New Yorks 3. They were being outplayed. The good news was that as bad as the game was going for the Pacers, they were only losing by five, losing 47-42.

Going into the second half Indiana knew they would have to play a different game. They would have to play more as a team, quit turning the ball over and outplay New York. The New York Knicks showed during the first game that if you outplay them they get frustrated and will beat themselves. The Pacers were more than capable of making that happen. The question remained, would they?

The Pacers came out playing the type of basketball that got them to the playoffs to begin with. They outplayed New York and took their first lead with four minutes left in the third quarter. The game began resembling a boxing match with each team trading punches. Neither one quite strong enough to knock the other out.

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around it appeared that the New York Knicks had all but knocked out the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were on the ropes not able to land a punch. The New York Knicks went on a 30-2 run completely taking the wind out of every single player on the Pacers. They were never able to recover and the New York Knicks ripped away any hope of victory for the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers limped off of the court with the final score 105-79. The Pacers were out rebounded and gave up a crippling 21 turnovers. Not good enough for a playoff caliber team.