Post-Game Grades: The Pacers Somehow Actually Played Worse Than Last Night in Loss to Bulls

24. 101. 100. Final. 118

The Indiana Pacers found a way to make the second night of a back-to-back worse than the first, falling hard to the Chicago Bulls to start the season 1-2.

The Good: … It’s October, I guess? Also, Paul George and Myles Turner don’t suck at least. That’s all, folks.

The Bad: It’s early, but there is already a lot of uncertainty in Nate McMillan’s rotations, the trade of Hill to Teague and the signing of Al Jefferson. The bench might be worse than last season. There were a few guys that didn’t look like they deserved minutes; there were a few other guys that looked like they shouldn’t be NBA players.

Any night that every player on the active roster gets to play is either a really good night or really bad night. This was a bad one.

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MVP: Doug McDermott led the charge for the bench unit of the Bulls, scoring 23 points in 18 minutes and shooting 5-6 from deep. His contribution was the main reason the Pacers’ bench got bounced and why they couldn’t forget about the three-point line against a Bulls time that is otherwise pretty vacant of shooters.

LVP: Jeff Teague. There are actually a bunch of players that could fit the bill for the Pacers, but Teague took his awful night against the Nets and found a way to top it tonight, putting up 0 points on 0-7 shooting. Fun Fact: George Hill didn’t have a 0-point game in either of the past two seasons.

X-Factor: Bench play. The Pacers’ all-reliever lineup headed into the second quarter down only four points, and by the time George got back into the game they were down by 19. That pretty much decided the outcome. Unless McMillan can figure out a rotation that works, rotational guys step up or Rodney Stuckey and Aaron Brooks can pull off way more than any of us could hope for, don’t expect this to change.

PAUL GEORGE. B. He was PG, but not PG enough to make any difference tonight. 20 points in 24 minutes, 4-5 from the arc are numbers to be happy about. Got into foul trouble, left the game mid-way through the third and the Pacers stunk too much for him to go back in.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers

F. Joins his new friend Jeff Teague on the awful train tonight. Scored one bucket, got bullied by the Bulls backcourt.. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. MONTA ELLIS

F. Can it get any worse? You probably asked that last night. Don’t ask it again, just in case. Put up a donut in scoring, though for what it’s worth he had 8 assists.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. JEFF TEAGUE

B+. One of the few reasons to like this Pacers team right now. Put up 20 points in 22 minutes and had 3 early blocks. The only starter on the Pacers to reach the free throw line.. Center. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER

C+. Wasn’t awful, didn’t hurt the team as bad as most other players did. On a regular night, he probably contributed just enough for the team to still be fine. Somehow led the Pacers in rebounding with 5.. Power Forward. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG

C+. One of the few players off the bench that weren’t flat-out bad, Miles seems to be getting his shooting touch going early in the season.. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. C.J. MILES

D-. The Jefferson campaign has not gone well so far. Had a decent amount of time with an entire team of starters at the end of the first and made no use of it.. Center. Indiana Pacers. AL JEFFERSON

D. He played, I think.. Power Forward. Indiana Pacers. LAVOY ALLEN

D. Don’t let the box score deceive you. Joey Buckets got no buckets when it mattered. Had an opportunity to prove his worth with Stuckey and Brooks out, didn’t take it. Padded his stats a bit in garbage time.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. JOE YOUNG

F. Got plenty of time to prove he’s worth minutes. He’s not.. Guard-Forward. Indiana Pacers. GEORGES NIANG

GLENN ROBINSON III. C+. The only guy other than Miles who kind of looked like he knew what he was doing off of the bench. Made a couple of extremely long 2-pointers that were a toe away from being a 3.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers

C. Wasn’t on the floor enough tonight to make a real judgement.. PF. Indiana Pacers. RAKEEM CHRISTMAS

Indiana Pacers. KEVIN SERAPHIN. C+. Did pretty well against the Bulls’ scrubs, but that doesn’t say too much.. Center

Next: The 7 Biggest Questions for the Indiana Pacers

The Pacers host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Bankers Life Fieldhouse

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