Pippen Ain't Easy
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Indiana Pacers at Chicago Bulls: Live Stream and Game Info

By Michael RENE KANOY

Oct 6, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) defends Chicago Bulls guard Dwayne Wade (3) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers won 115-108. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 6, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) defends Chicago Bulls guard Dwayne Wade (3) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers won 115-108. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Chicago Bulls go for another round against the Indiana Pacers in their third preseason game. The Pacers displayed their new-found shooting prowess from long range and a new cadre of tall and long bigs. Will Jeff Teague and Paul George run Fred Hoiberg’s troops to the ground again?

Next: What's the Plan for Felicio?

Where and When

Who: Indiana Pacers (2-0) vs. Chicago Bulls (0-2)
Where: United Center
When: 7:00 p.m. CST, October 8
How: WGN-TV for television, WLS-AM 890 for radio, and NBA League Pass for streaming

Match-Up Preview

This will be the third game for the Bulls in the preseason after running out of bullets in a shoot-out versus the Pacers in their first preseason road game October 6, losing 115-108.

Indiana is definitely a new team this year. George and new backcourt partner Teague showed plenty of energy in Nate McMillan’s high octane offense, attacking the rim at will all game long.

Even veteran guard Rodney Stuckey torched Doug McDermott all game long and scored 20 points with seven assists.

Hoiberg’s assistant coach, Jim Boylen teaches the Spurs’ one-one-one coverage for the Bulls team and continues to insist on that kind of defense. Since the Bulls have weaker defense when both Nikola Mirotic and McDermott play together, the team gives up plenty of blow-by incursions into the paint.  Strangely, Robin Lopez is not asked to camp there and protect the rim as expected when the team is playing half-court defense, Lopez keeps on moving to the high post and allows back cuts to score at will.  He needs an extra big to help him defending the post.

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It might be time to experiment with Cristiano Felicio and Lopez in the paint at the same time to protect the rim.  Or else, nothing changes from Pau Gasol’s era.

McDermott looks like the more reliable knock-down shooter and should be set up more.  Even Tony Snell looks the better 3-point specialist than Mirotic. If Niko doesn’t feel it, he bricks everything.

If you look at the highlight reel video, there is a sequence with Rondo and Mirotic attacking the rim, but Rondo gets the score for himself instead of allowing Mirotic to get a few to get his confidence going. There might be opportunities for a Rondo-Mirotic pick-and-roll or pick-and-dive option for the future.

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Thankfully, Paul Zipser and Spencer Dinwiddie showed up to play or else the Bulls would have been blown out in the second half. Dinwiddie scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds in the game, confidently attacking the paint at will.

I won’t be surprised to see Zipser getting plenty of minutes in the regular season since he is a high output, per-minutes-played, ,kind of player. He instinctively knows what to do the moment he touches the ball or when plays on the defensive end.

Hoiberg’s team still starts slow without a legit scorer from the perimeter. Doug’s microwave offense late in the first quarter from the last game may push Fred to insert him into the lineup  at some point to get as much out of the starting unit as he can. Or we may see Bobby Portis starting this game.

Next: Bulls at Pacers: Four Big Takeaways

We all want to see more of Zipser and Dinwiddie. Those two look like they can stick as roster players. Snell is back in a big way and since Derrick Rose isn’t there anymore the offense now flows naturally through Snell and Dinwiddie, a future guard tandem for the Bulls.

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