Pacers vs Bulls: This Could Get Ugly
By Ben Gibson
Indiana Pacers (3-7) at Chicago Bulls (7-2)
After two wins and glimpses of the potential of an injury riddled Indiana Pacers roster, things came crashing back to earth with a 108-87 loss to the Denver Nuggets. The optimism of earlier in the week isn’t there as the Pacers head to Chicago to face Derrick Rose and a revamped Bulls team.
Well, maybe, on the Rose part. Rose (left hamstring) is questionable and Jimmy Butler (left thumb sprain) is probable for the game. The Bulls might be wise to rest Rose as they have plenty of talent to throw out on the court in the form of Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah. The duo of Gasol and Noah is a tough task for Roy Hibbert and however Indiana coach Frank Vogel chooses to play at power forward. Scola didn’t last long against Denver’s Kenneth Faried and Timofey Mozgov, so this could be much, much worse.
Roy Hibbert can be a dominant performer, but when he’s can’t get there without a little help rom his teammates. If Copeland and Solomon Hill are missing as many shots as they did against the Nuggets, the Bulls will shade off of them and make sure Hibbert can’t function on offense. In the 17 regular season games against each other for Hibbert and Noah, it has been mostly a draw as both average just under 10 points against each other. And that’s with Paul George, David West, George Hill, and Lance Stephenson there to spread out the floor. Hibbert isn’t going to have that advantage tonight, so we there is a chance we’ll see full-on Struggle era Roy, who scored 3 points last time against Noah and the Bulls. Hibbert is having the best year of his carrer with 14.2 points a game, but in the past he has been limited to 8.9 per game against Chicago while shooting 36.6 percent, his lowest mark against any team according to NBA.com’s preview.
With a Hibbert possibly dealing with Noah and Gasol down low, the Pacers absolutely have to have decent shooting from Copeland, Solomon Hill, and Donald Sloan. If they can’t space the floor, and more importantly score, then this could be another rout.
Who to watch on the Bulls: Assuming Derrick Rose is healthy enough to play, it will be nice to see him back on the basketball court. It is always fun to watch the Pacers play the Bulls, but beating a Chicago team with Rose would mean a little more to the fans. Even if Rose isn’t 100%, Solomon Hill will have his hands full.
Who to watch on the Pacers: Chris Copeland can’t go 1 of 10 again. He can’t have more shots than points. He is a volume shooter but you can’t play that poorly against this Chicago team and expect Indiana to win.
The Big Question
Can the Pacers bounce back? It has been a while since the Pacers have played a team that can really get it done on both ends of the floor like Chicago can. The Bulls could easily rout Indiana for the second night in the row. If Indiana comes out with the mindset they did against Denver and play the same way, things are going to quickly get ugly in Chicago.
Betting Line
Chicago is a -9 favorite on a 181.5 over/under. After last night, I think the Pacers might get blown out again. I’ll take the Bulls and the over.