Pacers vs. Bulls Preview
CHICAGO, IL – Dominant during the regular season, Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls are in unfamiliar territory as the playoffs begin.
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Expectations are soaring, and it’s not hard to see why.
All the Bulls did was post the best record in the league at 62-20 and secure homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. They meet the Indiana Pacers in a first-round series starting Saturday, and anything less than a deep run would be a big disappointment.
According to NBA odds and oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Bulls -11.5 point spread favorites for Saturday’s game against the Pacers. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 76X% of more than 7,266 bets for this game have been placed on the Bulls -11.5.
The Bulls are heavy favorites this time after back-to-back 41-win seasons and first-round playoff exits, and Rose is curious to see how it all plays out. He said the Bulls were taking a business-as-usual approach as they prepared for a Pacers team that went 37-45 and changed coaches during the season.
“Everybody says it’s different, but I’ve thought about it,” Rose said Friday after practice in Deerfield, Ill. “It’s no different. For us, it’s no different. We’re going to prepare the same way. We’re going to practice the same way. (Coach Tom Thibodeau) always said at the beginning of the season that we were practicing to prepare like it’s the end of the season.”
That laser-like focus helped the Bulls match their best record since the 1997-98 season, when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen completed their second championship three-peat.
Not since then have expectations been this high. When they made the playoffs in recent seasons, the Bulls were usually the underdog – just like the Pacers.
“Obviously, to win a game or two in Chicago would be great,” Indiana’s Roy Hibbert said. “That’s what we’re planning on doing.”
If they won both, fans in Chicago certainly would be groaning.
Little was expected of the Bulls the past two years when they won 41 games and bowed out in the first round against Boston and Cleveland, but this, of course, is hardly the same team.
Chicago replaced the fired Vinny Del Negro with Thibodeau, a longtime NBA assistant, and gutted the roster. By the time the makeover was finished, the Bulls had added the low-post scorer they were craving in Carlos Boozer and enough role players to give them one of the deepest rotations. As the wins mounted, the sting of missing out on LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in free agency faded.
With Rose asserting himself as an MVP candidate, the Bulls were able to withstand losing Boozer and Joakim Noah for significant time because of injuries, while rekindling some of that championship-era excitement.
“It’s the playoffs, dude,” Noah said. “It doesn’t get more exciting than this. It’s the biggest stage in the world. We’re playing in front of unbelievable fans that are going to be going nuts, all red. It’s going to be bananas in there.”
Of course, there’s a long way to go. But there’s a different, yet familiar, vibe.
“I just think the expectations are higher,” veteran forward Luol Deng said. “But I really think we’ll welcome that. Throughout the season, I thought everything we did was to build up to what we’re going to do in the playoffs. I really think we’re all prepared well, especially with the way this coaching staff gets us ready for games.”
How impressive were the Bulls during the regular season? Consider this.
They started 9-8 but still finished with 62 wins, putting Thibodeau in a tie with Paul Westphal of the 1992-93 Phoenix Suns for the most wins by a first-year coach.
Their longest losing streak?
A whopping two games. They did that four times. And they dominated the Central division at 15-1, falling 115-108 in overtime at Indiana even though Rose scored a career-high 42 points.
No team held opponents to a lower shooting percentage or outrebounded them by a wider margin than the Bulls, who were also second to Miami in average scoring differential.
“We’re going to get everybody’s best shot,” guard Ronnie Brewer said. “We’re going to have a bulls-eye on our backs – and the front, if you want to put it like that.”
Taking aim are the Pacers, a team that seemingly has been rebuilding since that infamous 2004 brawl at Detroit and has only one starter, Danny Granger, who has been in the league more than three years. Things weren’t looking good for the Pacers when they fired coach Jim O’Brien after a 17-27 start, but they got better under Frank Vogel.
They stopped firing up ill-advised 3-pointers and started going to the rim. Vogel moved Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough into the starting lineup, re-established the 7-foot-2 Hibbert as a go-to player and gave point guard Darren Collison more freedom.
“We have to realize that the first shot’s not always going to be there with the kind of defense (the Bulls) play,” Granger said. “It might be the first, second or third option, with 6 seconds left on the shot clock. The past 10 games or so, we’ve been scoring really, really high. We have to realize that probably won’t happen in the playoffs.”
Containing the Bulls – particularly Rose – is another issue.
A day after an appearance at President Barack Obama’s fundraiser at Navy Pier, he vowed to make the First Fan deliver on one promise.
“He said if we make it to the Finals, he’s going to be there pulling for us,” Rose said. “I’m going to make sure to hold him to his words.”
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