Indiana Pacers Grab the Chicago Bulls By the Horns

The Indiana Pacers’ offense ran at full steam against the Chicago Bulls, giving hope to the idea this team can run and gun in the regular season.

The Indiana Pacers planned on having a high-octane offense this season and through a pair of preseason games that mission has been accomplished.

OK, maybe we should slow down a bit before we get too excited.

Yes, it is just preseason, but it isn’t like we saw this sort of pace or scoring in last year’s preseason either, much less the regular season. While we can’t really declare anything about this team with much certainty, the early returns are promising.

Once again Thaddeus Young led the starters in scoring as he dropped 16 while grabbing five rebounds. He didn’t shoot any 3-pointers on Thursday, but whenever you shoot 8 for 12 on the night, it doesn’t matter where you shoot from.

Jeff Teague and Monta Ellis had better performances in their second preseason games, with Ellis shooting 5 for 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from behind the arc. Drives like this are why Monta Ellis has it all and help space the floor.

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Teague had 10 points and 6 assists while breaking down the Bulls’ defense and creating opportunities for the rest of the Pacers.

Paul George had seven points and six rebounds while temporary starter Seraphin had four points and four rebounds.

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For the second straight game, Indiana had more than a +15 rebound advantage. That’s something they only did four times last season.

The starters did well enough, but several bench players made strong arguments for receiving minutes once the season begins.

Rodney Stuckey found his Godney alter-ego as he led the Pacers with 20 points, seven assists, and four rebounds. Just like Teague, his aggressiveness created opportunities for the rest of the team, as well as earning Stuckey 10 free throw attempts, of which he made nine.

Glenn Robinson III once against made a strong case for a spot in the rotation with a 6 of 7 shooting line for 17 points, knocking down his two 3-point attempts. He also had five rebounds, two assists, and two steals to round out his performance.

Al Jefferson registered a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He provided an outlet for Teague and other Pacers driving to the basket as he knocked down a trio of shots from mid-range as well as some easy ones near the rim.

Paul George said this team could score 115 points a game, and while that is a bit optimistic, this team looks like it will be closer to that mark than we initially expected.

Next: Myles Turner Has Plenty to Learn From Al Jefferson

The Pacers face the Bulls again on Saturday, but this matchup will be in Chicago. Myles Turner is expected to make his preseason debut then as well.