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.
How do the Indiana Pacers’ starters measure up against the Chicago Bulls’?
Starters (IND): Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, TJ Warren, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner
When healthy, the Indiana Pacers’ starting five is a fearsome opening group. While this five-man unit has yet to register a single minute on the hardwood, it’s not difficult to reason out why this quintet could easily be among the league’s most potent on both ends, at least in theory.
Although the Blue and Gold trots out a traditional, throwback opening group, it is done willfully. With All-Star Domantas Sabonis and best shot blocker Myles Turner on the frontcourt, all-around guard Malcolm Brogdon as the floor general and electric scorers Caris LeVert and TJ Warren on the wings, the Pacers, again if healthy, will deploy a highly versatile starting five that can play different styles while oozing both offensive and defensive potential.
The only caveat with this unit, aside from health, is how strong of a foundation it has, given its utmost lack of on-court chemistry, in the face of persistent mismatches in today’s more common small-ball configurations. Can they assert their style or are they the ones who will be forced to adjust on the fly?
Starters (CHI): Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Patrick Williams, Nikola Vucevic
As an impressive follow-up to their marquee move for Nikola Vucevic last season, the Chicago Bulls managed to become one of the offseason’s major winners by adding four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball to the Zach LaVine-led club. On paper alone, this starting unit should give opposing teams a lot on their plate to handle, especially on defense.
In the presence of three ball-dominant scorers, questions were raised about how their core can coexist seamlessly. The response? A sterling preseason record, with the Bulls playing impressive basketball on both ends. DeRozan has proven that his passing boost from San Antonio can augment both LaVine and Vucevic, while Ball has grown into a legitimate off-ball threat. Their prowess as a defensive unit will still be barked on in the regular season, but many signs indicate to them figuring it out.
The X-factor here would be Patrick Williams, the sophomore forward who could be the gel that binds this unit with his improving perimeter prowess, growing scoring profile and impressive defense.
Advantage: Chicago
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
Do the Indiana Pacers’ intangibles hoist them above the Chicago Bulls?
Indiana Pacers
Injuries and health concerns will always be a cloud over the Indiana Pacers’ ability to crack the top of the Eastern Conference. With multiple key players already sidelined to begin the year, the trek to reclaim relevancy in the league will be harder at the early juncture of the regular season.
Perhaps the bright side to this is the arrival of Rick Carlisle, a championship coach with a proven system, respected voice and a knack for shifting the tide of the game with his celebrated in-game judgments. After a peculiar season with Nate Bjorkgren, he should be a welcome change of professionalism, experience and most importantly, both on and off-court dynamics.
It’s difficult to count this as an advantage or a deflating barometer, but the Pacers have had impressive regular season runs save for last season in recent years. Perhaps a healthier squad and another decorated coach can push them back in that direction, or possibly more, given their hunger for success after last season’s giant intermission after missing the playoffs. Team chemistry should also be better, especially with them bringing back most of the core guys.
Chicago Bulls
While Billy Donovan is far from the accomplished figure that his counterpart is, there’s no denying that he has been a positive overseer to the Chicago Bulls program’ for the past couple of years. With a more star-studded team this time, he will have a more loaded canvass to work on.
Due to their guard-heavy roster, defense will be a big question mark for the Bulls, but it must be noted that they improved on defense last season. While they are missing key players to that end from last season (Thad Young), the system in place is sustainable and should cater well to their more athletic and bouncier roster.
It also serves Chicago well that their club is headed by high-character guys, players who have proven to be unselfish enough to give up some of their numbers for the betterment of the team. DeRozan has already been that with the Spurs and Vooch has opened up his game more to better coexist with LaVine. Despite lacking on the continuity front, team chemistry shouldn’t be an issue.
Verdict
With the current state of affairs between both teams, injuries and all, I’d say that the Chicago Bulls are better than the Indiana Pacers to begin the 2021-22 NBA season. Under the backing of a strong preseason, the Bulls have shown why they are more than just a fun, intriguing team.
However, I’m absolutely not closing the window on the Pacers ultimately ending up as the better team. IF healthy, I do believe that the Blue and Gold can surprise a lot of people next season, much like how they caught a lot of opponents who underestimated them off-guard in recent years (save for last season).