Chicago Bulls: 3 most problematic players for ‘The Last Dance’ team

2. Reggie Miller, Indiana Pacers

The up and down runs for the Bulls against the Jazz is comparable to the run they had against the Central Division foe Pacers during the 1997-98 season. The Pacers were just one game away from halting the Bulls in their tracks on the run to their sixth title of the 1990’s.

When the Bulls and Pacers met in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1998, few expected the series to carry on to seven games. The Pacers frontcourt combination of Dale Davis and Rik Smits turned out to be a real thorn in the side of the Bulls big men. But the biggest thorn in the side of the Bulls overall on this Pacers team throughout the 1997-98 season was shooting guard Reggie Miller.

The lights out shooter Miller was also one of the best trash talkers to ever play in the NBA. He clearly agitated Jordan, as he did pretty much every guard he went against in his playing career. And Miller was a tough shooter to stop for the Bulls in the conference finals. He had a true shooting percentage of 74.9 or better in two of the seven games, and better than 61 percent in four of the seven.

Miller also registered a box plus/minus rating of better than 2.0 in six of the seven games in the conference finals. He was the most consistent and toughest player to stop for the Bulls perimeter defenders in this playoff run.

In the four meetings between the Bulls and Pacers during the regular season, the teams split two wins a piece. Miller also registered a box plus/minus rating of better than 6.0 in three of those four games. He averaged 23.0 points per game, with a 63.2 true shooting percentage, against the Bulls in the regular season.