Indiana Pacers vs Chicago Bulls: Preseason Preview

Indiana Pacers vs Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls Off Season Recap:

This off season the Bulls lost their Bench Mob essentially by losing Omer Asik, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, CJ Watson, Mike James, and John Lucas.  Gone are the point guards who filled in during the playoffs for Derrick Rose, who will be gone for quite a bit of time during the regular season this year.   The Bulls did try to get some help in that point guard area by signing Kirk Hinrich, who was a former member of the team.  They also bring in rookie point guard Marquis Teague.  Those two guys will be asked to run the offense in Rose’s absence.  That’s quite a task as Rose is such a dynamic player.  Nate Robinson was picked up for cheap as well.

This Bulls team doesn’t look the same, but who knows if it can all mesh together and challenge for the division again. It’s been the Bulls division for a few years, but now might be the best time for a team like the Pacers to take the division.  The Bulls can still get Rose back in January at the earliest, but that could be optimistic as well.  They will have to get all their players working together for a playoff spot as a team like Brooklyn has upgraded a bit, and can challenge in the East.

Indiana Pacers vs Chicago Bulls Match up:

This is the one match up that Pacer fans and Bulls fans are drooling over.  These two teams met last year, and things were like a playoff atmosphere when they met in the regular season.  That first game saw the Pacers win on the Bulls home court, and Derrick Rose had stated the Pacers celebrated too much.  The Bulls would get the better of the next two match ups.  I don’t put much stock into that final game of the season as the Pacers sat a couple of their star players.  But the Bulls played very hard that final game as they were in line for the best record in the NBA.

This season could be a whole different story with Derrick Rose out.  The Pacers will have to take advantage of that missing piece for the Bulls.  We all saw what happened in the playoffs to the Bulls without Rose.  Does that same result happen in the regular season?

These two teams won’t waste much time going at it as they meet up in December.  That will be a fun game to watch as the Pacers should take advantage of the point guard match up and let George Hill become extra aggressive.  I would look for that position to be favorable to the Pacers.

I think Danny Granger is one to step up in these types of games as well, so I would look for him to have a great game there.  The Pacers need to take care of the Bulls in the regular season to prove their worth.  This is their year to take the division, so you have to take out the defending champ along the way.