The Chicago Bulls didn’t even come close to getting the job done on the road on Nov. 3 against the divisional foe Indiana Pacers.
Facing the third Central Division foe of the young 2019-20 regular season, the Chicago Bulls were looking to establish their first winning streak thus far. Entering this road battle at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse against the Indiana Pacers, the Bulls brought their 2-4 record and continued quest to make it back to the playoffs against a very injured team.
The Pacers were missing three of their best players in this matchup against the Bulls on Nov. 3. Those three key players for the Pacers missing included star shooting guard Victor Oladipo, center Myles Turner, and power forward Domantas Sabonis. Turner is missing due to ankle injury and Oladipo is still recovering from a rupture quad last season. But Sabonis was the new addition to the Pacers injury report.
However, the Bulls had momentum coming into this game off of a nice home win at the United Center over the Central Division foe Detroit Pistons on Nov. 1. That was their first win of the season over a divisional opponent.
That didn’t seem to have any legitimate carryover into this game against the Pacers as head coach Jim Boylen saw his team come out very flat tonight. Boylen and the Bulls were facing a significant double-digit deficit at halftime, and the second half didn’t go a whole lot better.
What made this loss to the Pacers really bad for the Bulls was the quality of talent in the starting five on the other side. The Pacers had the former Bulls G-League standout forward JaKarr Sampson in the starting five. They also had a number of usual bench role players in the starting five with their key trio out due to injury.
This was also the first game for recently signed Bulls forward Thaddeus Young against his former team, the Pacers. Young was decent for the Bulls in this 108-95 loss to the Pacers, but he was about the only productive player off the bench for his side. Rookie point guard Coby White went 0-of-6 from the field and finished with just one point.
A lot of players in the Bulls starting five also have to play better. Power forward Lauri Markkanen finished the game with well under 15 points and went just 3-of-9 from the field. About the only positives in the Bulls starting five were shooting guard Zach LaVine and center Wendell Carter Jr. But LaVine finished the game with more turnovers than assists.
There’s just no way that the Pacers should’ve topped the Bulls given the level of talent on each team. Missing Oladipo alone should’ve been enough for the Pacers to fall short against the Bulls. But having Sampson in the starting five for the Pacers makes this loss so much worse for Boylen and the Bulls. He was the last player signed by the Pacers in Training Camp.
Two other former Bulls that suited up and played for the Pacers on this disappointing night included small forward Justin Holiday and shooting guard/wing Doug McDermott. Holiday and Sampson were both solid defensive presences here for the Pacers and McDermott was a nice offensive spark plug off the bench.
More than anything, it seemed like the Bulls were outcoached by the Pacers here. Indiana head coach Nate McMillan experimented with a number of different lineups while the Bulls floundered with their subpar play off the bench and a mediocre outing from the starting five. This doesn’t really fall on Boylen’s shoulders, but this team has to be better night in and night out.