A key Central Division matchup between the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers on Jan. 29 will see the return of SG Victor Oladipo from a serious quad injury.
Jan. 29 will mark a special day in the Central Division, as star shooting guard Victor Oladipo makes his return from injury for the Indiana Pacers against the Chicago Bulls. Oladipo missed the last year due to a ruptured quad that he suffered in the midst of the 2018-19 regular season. Throughout the course of the last year without Oladipo in the lineup, the Pacers played well. They made the playoffs last season as a five seed, and are on track to at least do the same this year.
The Bulls enter this decisive Wednesday night showdown against the divisional foe Pacers with a record of 19-30. They’re coming off a nice 110-109 home win over head coach Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 27. That was one of the best wins of the season so far for the Bulls.
Meanwhile, the Pacers will come in with a record of 30-17. The Pacers last game saw them fall short in upset fashion at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers on the road on Jan. 26 by the final score of 129-119. Usually the Pacers are known to play better defense than that. And you’d figure they would capitalize on the chance to build momentum before their star player returns to the lineup in the following game.
The Pacers are sure to come into this battle with the Bulls with a chip on their shoulder. Losing the way they did to a scorching hot star point guard Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers had to sting. But the Bulls only have one win against a team with a winning record all season long. The Pacers are very likely to take advantage of that.
Finding success for the Bulls is a task that is going to be tough to pull off on Wednesday night.
How can the Bulls defend Oladipo in the midst of his return from this year-long absence due to rehab and recovery from his ruptured quad from last season?
First off, Oladipo could take a while to find his rhythm. While he is traditionally a solid shooter from multiple different areas of the floor (36 percent three-point shooter with the Pacers), he will reportedly be on a minutes restriction in his first weeks in return from this injury. That will limit his ability to get in rhythm from the field even further.
Oladipo tends to not shoot very well from mid-range (18.8 percent shooter between 3-10 feet from the rim last season) so that can be an area where point guard Kris Dunn lets him work. He also wasn’t a great three-point shooter from the corners last season (27.8 percent from that area of the floor).
He likes to drive to the basket, but doesn’t get many dunks. A lot of his points are also assisted. That is partly due to the fluent ball movement the Pacers regularly have under head coach Nate McMillan. But the Bulls should be mindful that 72 percent of Oladipo’s three-pointers on his career were assisted.
The gameplan should be clear for the Bulls when Oladipo is on the floor. Play close to him, and definitely keep either Dunn or combo guard Shaquille Harrison on him for most of the game. Lengthier guards tend to give him trouble since he frequently has his shots blocked.
Make sure that center Luke Kornet is out on the floor more often instead of inept big man Cristiano Felicio since a good rim protector is much-needed against the athletic Oladipo. Also be mindful that fellow Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon could miss the Jan. 29 game due to injury.
Missing Brogdon and having Oladipo on a minutes restriction could greatly limit the effectiveness of the Pacers guards. The Bulls have their own stout defensive stoppers and other athletic guards that can matchup well with Oladipo, including shooting guard Zach LaVine.
All in all, there’s a way to beat Oladipo and the Pacers. But the Bulls can’t lose sight of the stout Pacers frontcourt led by power forward Domantas Sabonis and center Myles Turner. Pretty much single handedly, Turner posted a double-double to beat the Bulls in their last meeting with the Pacers.
This is an important game for the Bulls to reach the 20-win mark on the season and get just their second over an opponent with a winning record.