Pre-Gamin’: Bulls at Pacers (6:00 CT) – Broadcast Info, Projected Lineups, What to Watch For
Well, this should be fun. DeMar isn’t traveling. The Bulls are shooting threes at a historically bad rate. Tonight’s game is in Indiana where last time things ended in disaster. What could go wrong?
Game Info
Chicago Bulls (26-31) at Indiana Pacers (25-34) – 6:00 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Chicago (TV) and 670 The Score (Radio)
Projected Starting Lineups
Chicago Bulls
- Ayo Dosunmu
- Alex Caruso
- Zach LaVine
- Patrick Williams
- Nikola Vučević
Injury Report: Alex Caruso QUESTIONABLE (foot), Goran Dragic QUESTIONABLE (knee), DeMar DeRozan OUT (hip), Derrick Jones Jr OUT (groin), Lonzo Ball OUT (knee), Javonte Green OUT (knee)
Indiana Pacers
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Andrew Nembhard
- Buddy Hield
- Aaron Nesmith
- Myles Turner
Injury Report: Myles Turner QUESTIONABLE (back), Daniel Theis QUESTIONABLE (thumb)
Odds
The Bulls come into tonight as 2.5-point underdogs against the Pacers at both PointsBet Illinois Sportsbook and FanDuel Illinois Sportsbook. Click on either link to sign up and pick the Bulls to cover (… or pick the opposite …)!
What to Watch For
- The Pacers have lost 16 of their last 18 games (one of those two wins was against the Bulls without Tyrese Haliburton), and the Bulls are UNDERDOGS tonight in Indiana. I get it, DeMar is out and the Bulls are banged up. But man, the fact that the season has gotten to this point is sad. I’m still holding out hope there’s a buyout addition or two that helps serve as a wake-up call, but this group is fading fast.
- Going into Memphis last Tuesday, the Bulls had a chance to finally get themselves up to that elusive .500 mark. Since that game, the Bulls have gone 0-4, averaged just 93.5 PPG, shot 19.4% from three-point range, and been held to 23 points or fewer in each 4th Quarter. It only gets more difficult tonight with no DeRozan in the lineup, though he hasn’t looked right the last few games so a few nights off might be good for him in the long run.
- The three-point shooting has to get better at some point, right? During this four-game skid, Zach LaVine has shot 27.3% from three-point range but has averaged 27.8 PPG. If Zach can get a few shots to drop from deep early, tonight has the potential to be a game where he goes off for 40+, especially with no DeMar in the lineup.
- Indiana is awful. Their top two centers Turner and Theis are questionable. They have allowed under 110 points just once in the last 18 games. Get them on the boards, hit some threes early, and don’t take your foot off the gas in the second half.
