Here are five takeaways from Saturday’s matchup between Jimmy Butler and the Chicago Bulls against Paul George and the Indiana Pacers.
Continuing with their strong start to the season, the Chicago Bulls bullied the Indiana Pacers to a 118-101 victory.
More from Pippen Ain't Easy
- The dream starting 5 for the Chicago Bulls 5 years from now
- Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu inspires the future with new school program
- Chicago Bulls NBA 2K24 full roster ratings, risers, and fallers
- Bulls sign a pair of promising guards to Exhibit 10 contracts
- When does NBA Training Camp start? Dates Bulls fans need to know
After a relatively even first quarter, the Bulls’ bench went on a 16-0 run in the second quarter and George’s Pacers could never recover. The Bulls got solid contributions all the way down the roster, with 11 different players scoring.
The game was heavy on highlights, including the return of the Jimmy Butler alley-oop (with Rondo throwing the lob instead of Pau Gasol), a nasty Robin Lopez dunk on Pacers big man Myles Turner, and plenty of long bombs from Doug McDermott and Isaiah Canaan.
Although the Pacers got solid play from their two stars George and Turner, it wasn’t enough to pull out the win. George and Turner both finished the game with 20 points, and Pacers reserves Glenn Robinson III and Joe Young both chipped in 11.
For the Bulls, it was a career night for Doug McDermott. He led the game with 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting (5-for-6 from 3-point range). Rajon Rondo spread the love with 13 assists as well.
Let’s take a look at some of the other biggest takeaways from the Bulls win.
Bulls Dominate in Transition
The Bulls finally played at that fast pace that we’ve been hearing about ever since Fred Hoiberg took the reins at the beginning of last season. 30 of their 118 points came off of fast breaks, compared to only 14 fast break points for the Pacers. Rajon Rondo was a huge part of this feat. He played with his eyes up all game, seeing the open man down the court when the Pacers failed to get back on defense.
The Bulls’ offense was rolling from the opening tip, complete with the ball movement and blistering pace that we expected from Hoiberg. The Bulls had 34 assists on their 45 total field goals, and it was plain to see on the court. The frequent ball-stopping and iso-ball that dominated the Bulls of the past was almost nowhere to be seen. We saw a bit of iso-heavy ball early in the third with Jimmy in control of the offense, but otherwise the ball flicked around the court, searching for an open 3.
Going 19-for-21 from the free throw line didn’t hurt the offensive side either. Butler and Wade did what they do best: drawing fouls and getting to the line, and the Bulls also managed to keep the turnovers low, giving the ball away only 12 times.
Bench Mob 2.0 Excels
The Bulls reserves came to play tonight.
The group that’s coming to be known as the Bench Mob 2.0 added 58 points to the final score, and the lineup of Michael Carter-Williams – Dwyane. Wade – McDermott – Nikola. Mirotic – Cristiano Felicio was on fire in the second quarter. They were responsible for the 16-0 run that effectively put the game away before halftime.
With the Pacers missing bench contributors Rodney Stuckey and (former Bull) Aaron Brooks, the Bulls were doing whatever they wanted while the starters rested. McDermott and Mirotic provided great spacing and Wade and Carter-Williams provided the playmaking to make that five-man unit a lineup that we could potentially see Hoiberg go to with some regularity, provided that they can hold down the fort defensively.
We also saw the regular season debuts of rookies Denzel Valentine and Paul Zipser as well as sophomore Bobby Portis. Although their minutes were relegated to garbage time, Portis got his first basket of the season and also rocked a black headband, taking advantage of the Bulls new headband-friendly policy (Thanks Rajon).
Indiana Struggles Defensively
It was a rough night for the Pacers, as they were coming off a rather embarrassing 94-103 loss to the Brooklyn Nets just last night. So far, they’ve allowed an average of 114 points per game, a mark that would have put them dead last in the league by a sizable chunk.
The Pacers are 1-2 on the season now, besting the Mavericks in their season opener before falling to the Nets and now the Bulls. The bright spot however is 2nd year player Myles Turner who looks spectacular so far, averaging 21 points and just over 10 rebounds per game. If Turner can keep up that kind of production, the Pacers have a bright future ahead of them, regardless of how these first three games have gone.
The defense has to get figured out somehow though. Paul George is an excellent perimeter stopper, and Turner is coming into his own as a rim protector, but Indiana is feeling the absences of Solomon Hill and Ian Mahinmi, and new addition Al Jefferson has never excelled on the defensive end.
The Pacers need one of Glenn Robinson III, Joe Young, or Lavoy Allen to step up defensively, or it could be a long season.
Rondo Racks up the Assists
Rajon Rondo has always had a reputation across the league as an elite distributer, and he showed us why tonight. He ended the night with 13 assists, a great number for any player, but add in the fact that he played only 25 minutes, and you arrive at something truly special. Rondo had five assists by the end of the first quarter, and 11 by halftime.
Rondo’s court vision is something that Chicago hasn’t seen for a long time. We praised Joakim Noah’s ability to find guys from the high post (he led the Knicks in assists tonight with seven), but Rondo is on a whole different level, and his teammates know it: there were more than a few passes that Rondo threw tonight that were so impressive, the other Bulls didn’t even see them coming, and they resulted in turnovers or fumbled opportunities.
Those miscommunications will surely get worked out and smoothed over as the season progresses, and it looks like Rondo will have many more nights like this one. His passing is a huge part of why the Bulls’ transition game looks so much more vibrant than last year. We’re in for a lot of highlight plays that start with a full court pass from Rondo.
Doug Shows Off Versatility
Between all the double-take passes from Rondo and the dunks from Jimmy and RoLo, we might almost forget that Doug McDermott led the Bulls in scoring tonight. Doug had a hell of a game, filling up the box score with 23 points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block.
Next: Bulls vs. Pacers: Instant Analysis
And while he did shoot 5-for-6 from the 3-point line, McDermott’s offensive game was surprisingly versatile tonight. Doug is on a mission to show the rest of the league that he has potential to be a lot more than just a spot up shooter this year.
Doug was attacking closeouts aggressively from early on in the game, driving for layups and kicking the ball out to open shooters. He even had nice possession in the second quarter where he grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast to coast for a layup on the other end.
If Doug can continue to flesh out his game on the offensive end, as well as provide a stable baseline of production defensively, he’ll give Hoiberg a tempting option at the starting power forward spot, as The Athletic’s Stephen Noh writes about here (if you love the Bulls, you need to be subscribed to The Athletic).