Chicago Bulls: 3 teams that could have ruined Scottie Pippen’s prediction
By Abe Rotbart
No. 3 The Indiana Pacers
In the 1998 Eastern Conference finals, the Chicago Bulls barely scraped by the Indiana Pacers to win the series 4 games to 3. Each team won on their home court.
Considering that Indiana went on to win the division in the strike shortened season that followed, the Pacers easily coud have had the home court advantage in a 1999 playoff series.
That Pacers team also consisted of incredible talent. Reggie Miller and Chris Mullin were joined by Mark Jackson, Jalen Rose and Rik Smits. Miller and Mullin are Hall of Fame inductees and Mark Jackson went on to finish his career fourth all time in assists. Miller, Rose and Jackson were all in the prime of their careers with fresh legs.
After sweeping through the first two rounds of the 1999 playoffs, Indiana eventually lost to the New York Knicks, who as a surprise finalist would lose to the San Antonio Spurs. But the Pacers did make it back to the finals in 2000, losing to an extremely talented Laker team coached by none other than Phil Jackson, who coached the Bulls to their six championships.
There is no doubt that after being knocked out of the playoffs the year before, that Indiana would have had the motivation needed to knock off the Bulls. When the Chicago Bulls broke up, this was the team that had been giving them the most worries. The rivalry just didn’t have enough time to develop.