The Bulls (29-35) are back in action this afternoon to close the book on the season series with their longtime Central Division rivals, the Indiana Pacers (28-36). Chicago captured the opening game played at the United Center, but the Pacers took the next two on their homecourt in downtown Indianapolis.
Only one game separates the Bulls and Pacers in the East standings, with Chicago sitting 11th and Indiana 12th. If the Pacers win today, they’ll own a tie-breaking edge over the Bulls if the two end up with the same record at the end of the season. Both want to find a way to finish no worse than 10th in the conference to earn an invite to the league’s postseason play-in tournament. Currently, Toronto (+2.5) and Washington (+1.5) hold the last two play-in spots in the East with 18 games left to play.
Fans can catch today’s action beginning at 2:30 pm CST, on NBC Sports Chicago.
HEART, HUSTLE AND MUSCLE
In order for the Bulls to win games, they have to sport a hardnosed, blue-collar mentality. They have to relentlessly be on the attack at both ends of the floor on every possession.
Offensively, Chicago needs to create a fast tempo by crashing the boards, running the floor at every opportunity, and freely share the ball to knock opponents onto their heels. Everyone must be actively involved and willing to do whatever is necessary to make something happen.
The other night against the Phoenix Suns, Chicago went toe-to-toe against one of the NBA’s top teams by refusing to be outhustled and outworked. However, the Bulls’ shooting abandoned them during crunch time, as everyone went ice cold down the stretch. Together, Chicago was only able to connect on two of 12 shots over the game’s final six minutes, while Phoenix, on the other hand, torched the twine with an 18-4 run to put the game away.
Although Indiana isn’t anywhere close to being as serious a title threat as Phoenix, the Pacers’ makeup includes lots of high-end talent and grit. For the Bulls to come out on top this afternoon they have to treat this contest as if it’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Every single player is going to have to be focused and be willing to dive on the floor for a loose ball and/or fight tooth-and-nail for every rebound.
KEEPING PACE WITH THE PACERS
As for what’s in store for Chicago’s defense today, the Pacers will also want to run the floor from the moment they hit the hardwood. All-Star point guard, Tyrese Halliburton’s zeal to get the ball up the floor in a hurry after both makes and misses keeps every opposing coach up at night. Haliburton, if he’s able to answer the bell today after missing Indy’s last outing with a calf injury, is going to want to establish a breakneck pace from the opening tip.
The Pacers enter today as the NBA’s top team in fastbreak scoring at 18.9 points per game, and rank tied for 12th in scoring off opponent turnovers at 17.7. They also do a terrific job of moving the ball around, ranking 6th in assists at 26.6, and 7th in assists ratio at 18.7%.
Chicago’s Patrick Beverley will likely draw the primary defensive assignment on Haliburton. When it comes to hardnose play, you can find Beverley’s photo running alongside the definition of the words in the dictionary. His job will be to keep the ball out of Haliburton’s hands as much as possible, while staying directly in front of him, denying him an easy path to the hoop.
Haliburton’s backcourt running mate, Buddy Hield, also poses plenty of problems, as his name is always written in red ink on opposing team’s scouting reports. The 6’4 sniper comes into today’s contest as the NBA leader in made three-pointers with 240. He’s knocked down multiple treys in all but eight games this season and has hit five or more a league-best 24 times.
With Hield leading the way, 36.8% of Indiana’s points this season have come as the result of three-pointers, which is the sixth-highest in the league. Look for Alex Caruso to blanket Hield this afternoon. Like Beverley, Caruso is the epitome of hardnose.