Still have a chance to salvage the week with a 2-2 record. Tough loss to the Suns on Friday, but let’s bounce back today. Oh, also let’s try and not to blow another 20-point lead!
Game Info
Indiana Pacers (28-36) at Chicago Bulls (29-35) – 2:30 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Chicago (TV) and 670 The Score (Radio)
Projected Starting Lineups
Chicago Bulls
- Patrick Beverley
- Alex Caruso
- Zach LaVine
- DeMar DeRozan
- Nikola VuÄević
Injury Report: Injury Report: Injury Report: Javonte Green OUT (knee), Lonzo Ball OUT (knee)
Indiana Pacers
- Andrew Nembhard
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Buddy Hield
- Aaron Nesmith
- Myles Turner
Injury Report: Tyrese Haliburton QUESTIONABLE (calf), Aaron Nesmith QUESTIONABLE (hip), Kendall Brown OUT (leg)
Odds
The Bulls come into today’s game as 5.5-point favorites 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
- It’s a beautiful day to not blow a 20-point lead to a bad team – let’s make that happen, Bulls! We know how the last two against the Pacers have gone, great starts, big leads into the 2nd Half, slips away in the 3rd Quarter, and then full meltdown mode in the 4th. The Bulls have played fine this week (and better overall since the Patrick Beverley addition). Hopefully, they can end it on a high note.
- It was nice seeing DeRozan look a little bit more like his old self. I hope that means he’s starting to feel fully healthy again. He put up 31 points on an efficient 13-18 shooting against the Suns on Friday night. If the Bulls are going to make a run at the Play-In Tournament (I still can’t believe that’s what this season has come to) they’ll need that version of DeMar.
- Tyrese Haliburton is questionable today, so hopefully, he decides to take a rest today. Not that it would totally matter. The Bulls blew one of their 20+ point leads to Indiana without him in the lineup. The Pacers are coming off an 11-point loss to the tanking Spurs. They’re not good. But they also never think they’re out of a game, as we’ve learned this season. The Bulls need to get out to a lead and then resist the urge to go into cruise control.
- The three-point percentage really fell off against the Suns. The Bulls shot just over 30% in Friday’s loss. The two games prior they shot over 40% from deep. This team can beat anyone when they’re shooting well from beyond the arc. Need to get that percentage up closer to 40% today.
- More from Eli in here …