• Heat guard Mario Chalmers is expected to play despite sustaining a bruised shoulder in Game 1. Coach Erik Spoelstra said Chalmers completed the morning shootaround. Chalmers did not play much in the second half Wednesday, but said it was a coaching decision for him to sit.
• Pacers coach Frank Vogel and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra both downplayed Roy Hibbert’s claim of dirty play by Shane Battier. Hibbert complained of Battier leading with the knee on a drive in the first quarter that resulted in a charge. Both coaches insisted there is no dirty play in the series.
• Vogel said the Pacers need more from guard Lance Stephenson, who he called the team’s most important player in the series. He had just two points on 2 of 10 shooting in Game 1.
• Spoelstra said he will continue to alternate defensive assignments between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Wade began Wednesday’s game defending Paul George while James was on Stephenson. Spoelstra expects that to change throughout the series.

–Zachary Paul

• As expected, Heat guard Dwyane Wade is in the starting lineup. Wade had no setbacks on his sore right knee after practicing every day in between series.
• Heat coach Erik Spolestra waited until pre-game to announce Udonis Haslem would start at power forward. There was debate the choice would be Shane Battier, who could help the Heat spread the floor and possibly bring Pacers center Roy Hibbert out of the paint more. Still, Battier is expected to log the majority of the minutes. Haslem said he will likely play “17 to 18″ minutes.
• Pacers forward David West said after the morning shootaround that he will spend more time than Hibbert guarding Heat center Chris Bosh. Hibbert will split his defensive duties between Bosh and Haslem.
• Indiana forward Paul George said he looks at this as his opportunity to show he is one of the league’s elite players. He will primarily square off against LeBron James after facing New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony in the previous series. George said, “I don’t want to shy away from this moment.”
• Backup center Ian Mahinmi is the only Pacer to play in the Eastern Conference Finals. He was a member of the Dallas Mavericks team that beat the Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.

–Zachary Paul 

• Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said he saw no reason to change lineups heading into Game 2. “I considered changing coaches,” Hollins joked, “but not lineups.” Hollins said he mainly wants his team to have better discipline and better effort. “When you look at the tape, those are the things that jump out at you,” he said. “We didn’t recover and make second and third efforts and make the other team play. We made one effort and we stopped.”
• Tony Parker was the subject of a death threat at the conclusion of Game 1 and was given an escort home after the game by Bexar County officials. Spurs officials have not commented on whether security will be increased for Parker or other players tonight.
• Both teams continue to report no injuries or no lineup changes.

– Tim Price

• Though bigger bodies have shown to work well in defensive assignments against Tony Parker, that’s not how the Grizzlies will start. Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said Tony Allen will start the game guarding Spurs off guard Danny Green. “We’re just going to play straight up,” Hollis said. “I don’t know how long it will last. Sometimes things change on their own.” That would put Mike Conley on Parker.
• Tayshaun Prince and Marc Gasol have continued to play for Memphis in the playoffs despite nagging injuries. Each will start despite Gasol’s lingering abdominal tear and Prince’s back problems. Both teams are reporting no injuries that would cause anyone to miss time.
• The teams split four games this season, but that’s not a good gauge because Memphis played some of those games starting the since-traded Rudy Gay and the Spurs had Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili on the inactive list for a game. “I think we’re real familiar with each other, but I think none of the games (this season) told very much,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They do what they do and we do what we do. That’s the way it is in the playoffs.”
• For those who don’t remember, this is a rematch of the first-round series in 2011 that Memphis won 4-2 as an eighth seed over the top-seeded Spurs. The Grizzlies opened the series with a starting lineup that looks just like today’s with the exception of Sam Young on the perimeter, where Prince will start today. The only bench player from that team who remains is Darrell Arthur. The Spurs looked much different with Duncan and Parker starting alongside Antonio McDyess, George Hill and Richard Jefferson. Almost all of their bench players – DeJuan Blair, Matt Bonner, Ginobili, Green, Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter remain with the team.

– Tim Price

• Indiana will get its starting point guard back. George Hill has been cleared to play, will start and play his normal share of minutes for the Pacers in Game 6 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Hill missed Game 5 with a concussion but passed the NBA-mandated tests the past two days and remained symptom-free after workouts earlier today. “We did it by the book,” said coach Frank Vogel. “He’s a big part of what we do, so having him in there will impact the game on both ends of the court.”

• Knicks coach Mike Woodson seemed unmoved by the news of Hill’s return. “It won’t change anything for us,” he said. “ At this point it doesn’t matter who plays. It’s all about what we do.”

• The Knicks will stick with the lineup that won Game 5: Raymond Felton, Pablo Prigioni, Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler.

• Rebounding will be critical for the Knicks. In three losses in the series, New York was beaten 151-107 on the boards. In two victories it was virtually dead-even, with Indiana holding a one-rebound advantage. Woodson said it’s imperative his perimeter players get involved with long rebounds and loose balls. “To me, that’s been the difference in the series,” he said, “those hustle plays giving them second chances to score the basketball.”

• New York is 0-4 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season, averaging 80 points, 34.8 percent shooting overall and 23 percent from the 3-point line. Anthony, who missed one of the games, has averaged 20 points on 36.7 percent shooting, while J.R. Smith has averaged 14.5 points on 31.4 percent shooting.

– Conrad Brunner