The Pacers Bail Out the Bulls to Keep the Season on Life Support
On Tuesday, the Bulls and Pacers tried to out-bad each other in a tight ballgame with playoff implications and the Bulls were just slightly less worse to pick up a season-series win over Indiana.
Jimmy Butler hit one of the easiest game-winners you’ll see on Tuesday night in Indianapolis against the Indiana Pacers.
Butler drove right in a late-game isolation look for the Bulls in a tie game and drilled a jumper inside the right elbow with 03.7 left to give the Bulls a 98-96 lead and the win to end a four-game losing streak.
The dynamics of the shot were just weird, which perfectly sums up the current Bulls season. Not only did Butler basically get a clear, easy look at the rim, the Pacers looked like the Bulls have in recent weeks defensively.
Seriously, look at this:
Usually in a final-second situation, you’ll see teams go to an isolation set and run the clock, which is what the Bulls did with Butler. The slight wrinkle was quick pick-and-pop with Butler and Nikola Mirotic (who was the Montenegrin version of the Human Torch on Tuesday night).
Where things got weird is when Indiana couldn’t decide whether to switch or not switch defensively with George Hill and Paul George off the Mirotic quick screen. Hill switches onto Butler’s drive, but George tries to stay with Butler. (Notice the space around Mirotic when Butler’s drive gets going.)
As Butler stops to pull up and hit the game-winner, George drifts more towards Mirotic, while Hill is … well, there’s no telling what Hill is doing here. He might be funneling Butler’s drive into a contest at the rim by Ian Mahinmi (who comes off Pau Gasol because of Butler’s drive)?
The point is, even if Butler doesn’t shoot this, Mirotic is wide open and I mean, wide open. He finished with a game-high 28 points and made seven(!) of his 13(!!) attempts from beyond the arc against the Pacers and it’s unlikely he’d miss this open look if it presented itself.
It was a weird play for other reasons as well.
The Bulls helped Detroit in the Eastern Conference standings and clinched a tiebreak over the Pacers with a win — their third over Indiana this season — with just eight games left in the season. The Bulls officially won the season series with Indiana, 3-1, and sit two games back of the Pacers for the final playoff spot in the East.
Along with the playoff race (that might be the most indifferent thing in the city of Chicago today), the folks on the beat for the Bulls mentioned that the locker had a rather weird vibe after Tuesday’s win.
Chicago Tribune Bulls beat reporter K.C. Johnson dropped this on Twitter, too:
That's one of the most subdued postgame locker rooms I've ever covered following GW shot. "Guys are nicked up, hurting," Butler said.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 30, 2016
Is there a lot to take from this? Maybe, maybe not.
However, it does add up.
Next: Bulls hold a team meeting on Easter to discuss finish to the season
The Bulls are two games out in the standings with eight games left and this season hasn’t exactly been the easiest. It’s been up and down and quite draining for everyone. Along with injuries and inconsistent play, the Bulls just don’t look like a team that could do anything in the postseason even if they made it there.