Indiana Pacers: A comparative look against the new-look Chicago Bulls

Can the Indiana Pacers’ bench succeed against the Chicago Bulls’ second unit?

Pacers Bench: TJ McConnell, Chris Duarte, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday, Torrey Craig, Oshae Brissett, Isaiah Jackson, Goga Bitadze

Perhaps a collateral of continuously adapting to injuries, the Indiana Pacers have built an impressive bench. With a deep second unit consisting of experienced cagers and talented young guns, the team has a unique advantage of catching opponents by surprise with their assemblage of solid role players, which is seemingly tailor-made for their injury-prone starters and Rick Carlisle’s excellence with in-game adjustments.

Sixth man McConnell leads the up-tempo Pacers bench, with explosive rookies Duarte and Jackson filling in. In need of a scoring boost? Here’s a serving of some Lamb buckets. Defense, you say? Indiana has three 3-and-D adepts on deck with Holiday, Craig and the young Brissett. Oh, and they also have a Georgian big man who can defend and shoot the three in Bitadze. This is a complete package.

Bulls Bench: Coby White, Alex Caruso, Troy Brown Jr., Derrick Jones Jr., Ayo Dosunmu, Tony Bradley, Alize Johnson, Matt Thomas

Well, given how much money the Chicago Bulls have invested in their starting unit, it’s not surprising that their second unit is quite thin and lacking in both depth and experience. While White is a fiery scoring guard and Caruso is a jolt of secondary playmaking and perimeter defense, their other bench components are far from proven commodities.

Outside of Johnson’s tenacious rebounding and Jones’ flashy dunks, there’s not a lot to say about the Bulls’ second unit. I’m not enticed enough by Brown’s iffy three-point shot to label him a 3-and-D adept. Dosunmu and Bradley are talented, yet raw. Thomas is a JJ Redick type, but far from having the same fear factor.

Advantage: Indiana