Chicago Bulls to take on Indiana Pacers in season finale match for Indiana – NBA Preview
The Chicago Bulls will take on the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night in what will be the 2nd last game of the season for the Bulls and last for the Pacers. Chicago are in no mood of resting their key players, as their
starting five have played together only 14 times this season. This match is a critical one for Chicago for numerous reasons.
Firstly, the Bulls have had a rough month of April, going 6-5 in their 11 games. They need a good win against a solid team such as the Pacers to remove any doubts in their mind that they are going into the playoffs with the best
record and hence in turn, the best team in the league. Secondly, the bulls have been facing injury troubles all year to the point that their starting five have rarely played together. Now with all of them back and healthy, they need to develop a rhythm in
these remaining two games and be ready for the playoffs.
The third and most important reason is that Derrick Rose needs to gain some rhythm and get some blood running in those legs. He has been out far too many games and his last performance against the Mavericks was average. Although
in that game it was necessary for him to limit himself as he was coming off injury, he needs to return to his explosive self in the last two games so he is confident about his health and rhythm when he goes on the court for game 1 of the first round playoffs.
Richard Hamilton is a critical component in the Bulls formula to win the NBA World Championship this season. After missing much of the season due to injury, Hamilton has played some good games recently, having reached double figure
points in four of the last five games. It is important that he gets some good playing minutes alongside Rose and the two form some chemistry.
The Pacers, on the other hand, have locked up the third seed in the Eastern Conference and are on a roll entering into the playoffs. They have won 12 out of their last 14 games and will be looking to finish their season with a
confidence building win over the top team in the East. Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and company will be looking to do what they do best as these two teams battle it out.
These two teams have met twice this season, and they have split the two games. In the March 5th victory for the Bulls, they outnumbered the Pacers 60-32 in rebounds and shot 60% from the three point line, while holding
Indiana to 34.2% shooting from the field. In the January 25th game that the Pacers won, they had 44 rebounds compared to 41 for the Bulls, and reduced the Bulls bench to 8 points.
The Bulls were 40% from the field and 23.1% from the distance in that game. The strategy for the Bulls is quite clear. They need to do a good job on the defence as that is their strength. For the Bulls, rebounds wins matches. For
the Pacers, they need to throw the Bulls off their game and match them on the defensive end.
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