The Indiana Pacers and the Chicago Bulls’ competitive history goes all the way back to the 90s, when the dynastic Michael Jordan-led squad trumped Reggie Miller and co. en route to multiple trophies in their storied run. Since then, both teams have had meager success, though one team is obviously furnished with six championships while the other still boasts none to its name.
In the present, with the 2021-22 NBA season now officially a few days away, the two clubs assume the same analogy. The Pacers, despite underwhelming last season, are bannering the same roster, albeit with few, subtle additions. Conversely, the Bulls, after lying at the bottom of the East for a few years, are now media darlings after being at the core of a successful offseason. As a result, many are chalking in Chicago to be an upstart playoff team. Indiana? Not so much.
How do the Indiana Pacers look against the reinvented Chicago Bulls?
While I’m not pushing the agenda that the two clubs form a hawkish rivalry (they’re not, far from it, actually), both are residents of the much-improved Central Division. While all eyes are on the Milwaukee Bucks’ title defense as the clear-cut alpha in the group, how the Indiana Pacers fare against the new-look Chicago Bulls deserve a closer look, especially with four significant games on deck against each other in the tighter-knitted conference.
In this piece, I will cross-examine the two teams on three different facets: the starters, bench and intangibles. Without further ado, let’s take a comparative look between both squads, as they attempt to crack the upper echelon of the East after failed campaigns in the previous season.