Game 2: Pacers @ Bulls 04/18/11, 9:30 EST

[Miller4ever]

THE SKINNY



After a disappointing loss in game 1, the critics are once again waving off the Indiana Pacers, saying that their spirits are broken and that the Bulls should be able to steamroll them on the way to a sweep. The Pacers have other plans, planning on reloading and making adjustments of their own.

THE LINEUPS



Point Guard

Darren Collison had a quietly solid game, stepping up and delivering 17 points including 2 from deep, 9 assists and only 1 turnover, and 6 rebounds. He only made 1-3 from the free throw line. This was obviously overshadowed by Derrick Rose's 21 points from the line, a stat that Collison must take personally when guarding him this time.

Shooting Guard

Paul George got in early foul trouble but when he came back in the 2nd half, he was the one checking Rose. He must also take Rose's 21 FT attempts personally. He also must be involved in the offense. He only took 2 shots against the Bulls, and one was an alley-oop finish. The rookie has more game than that. If he can stay on the floor against the likes of Kyle Korver, he should be able to do some damage. He needs to grow during this series.

Small Forward

Danny Granger did his part by efficiently putting up the numbers that have been the norm for the last three years. He also did a good job of keeping his counterpart quiet in the first half. However, when he started scoring, so did Luol Deng. Granger cannot let up on D when he is getting it on O.

Power Forward

The one matchup that seems to have gone the Pacers way, except for Hansbrough's utter lack of rebounding. 4 boards for the high-powered big man is not normal. His rebounding during the year wasn't spectacular, but he should've had more.

Center

Roy Hibbert got off to a good start and then went quiet in the end, discontinuing his production on the boards and getting fewer touches. He should at least be given a chance to be the go-to big guy and prove himself in crunch time. Since his height is such an advantage, if he is able to get deep positioning the ball should be moved around and find itself in his hands for an easy score.

THE BENCH







Mike Dunleavy and Josh McRoberts combined for 1-9 shooting. AJ Price mitigated some of that by providing a good scoring spark off the bench. Foster had some trouble, but as a savvy vet, his effectiveness may take a while set in the longer the series goes on.

THE COACHES




Frank Vogel had some choice words to say about the lack of officiating help with Derrick Rose. His task will be difficult, trying to get this young squad going for a second time, but his confidence has definitely spread to his players, and that's half the battle.

THE INJURY REPORT



Pacers
None.

Bulls
None.

THE HEAVY MATTERS



-Rebound. The Bulls stayed in it with inferior shooting by grabbing more rebounds.
-Defend without fouling. The free throw disparity doesn't have to be an inevitability

THE TRADITION

[Wizard of POOH]

I like those basketballs.

[Gremz]

Gotta rally. Hopefully the morale is still high in the camp.

Insider report from a Bulls fan about the Pacers locker room after game 1:

The Pacers locker room was a nightmare. Lots of people, very few players. I hoped to get quotes from Collison and Hansbrough (the only 2 players of value that I saw), but I was unsuccessful. Collison had a line of reporters waiting for him and Hansbrough was eating... he was eating chocolate chip cookies with a fork. I'm serious. And he had that crazy look in his eyes. I didn't want to bug him.

The Pacers locker room was not down AT ALL. I think they were in a good mood actually. They know that they can win some games in this series.

News provided to me by a Bulls fan that don't mind my shenanigans, and this SherronShabazz seems legit.

Tyler got mojo.

[Miller4ever]

I give credit to Vogel if this team's still on board for messing with the Bulls. The confidence and swagger has been there. It might've been gone for that 6-game skid we had, but we recovered from that to finish with a winning record under Vogel, so...

[Wizop]

but can we win without an appearance from the Victory Girls?

[paulgeorge24]

I wouldnt give THAT much credit to Vogel. Even he admits that most of the time, he just tries to get out of the way and let the players do their thing instead of JOB, who tried to force different roles on players. Everyone on this squad knows that we're playing in this series with house money. No one expects us to win a game much less be competitive. Absolutely no pressure on us and all of the pressure on the Bulls.

That being said, we'll see how confident we are when/if we get punched in the mouth to start Game 2.

edit; how was Collison "quietly" effective in game 1? Every other possession it seemed, the commentators were raving about his play...

[Kuq_e_Zi91]

Last time I heard someone say "he's got that crazy look in his eyes" about one of our players it was that fateful night in Detroit. And thinking about it, Tyler does remind me of Ron a little bit, the good part of crazy Ron.

Chocolate chip cookies with a fork.

[biggestbullsfan]

Great game thread. It should be a good game. Tyler is a monster and if he does that again against Boozer then Boozer will definitly be riding the pine down the stretch.

Im sure Rose wont have as many points last game. And Hopefully its becuase others on our team stepped up and not becuase your adjustments shut him down.

Hibbert looks amazing and Collison is fearless. Im looking forward to this series.

[umfan83]

If your gonna keep making game threads like the last 2, I am going to start hanging out here instead of my board's game thread. I can't stop staring at "The skinny".

[Miller4ever]

but can we win without an appearance from the Victory Girls?

Most of those are the victory girls.

[Miller4ever]

I wouldnt give THAT much credit to Vogel. Even he admits that most of the time, he just tries to get out of the way and let the players do their thing instead of JOB, who tried to force different roles on players. Everyone on this squad knows that we're playing in this series with house money. No one expects us to win a game much less be competitive. Absolutely no pressure on us and all of the pressure on the Bulls.

That being said, we'll see how confident we are when/if we get punched in the mouth to start Game 2.

edit; how was Collison "quietly" effective in game 1? Every other possession it seemed, the commentators were raving about his play...

I'm not talking about the system, I'm talking about the team attitude.

Collison's play was quiet when you consider his counterpart.

[GetBuLLish]

I was really impressed with the amount of Red at the UC, considering free shirts weren't given out. I was also really impressed with the crowd noise too. When Korver hit that late three, it sounded, from my living room seat, like the stadium was about to explode.

[Miller4ever]

My heart almost did.

[panthermark]

Very nice game thread...
I was checking it out from home earlier today....so I knew to be careful when I checked in again at work....

[ronnymac2]

I'm interested in seeing how Collison responds to the imminent adjustments Thibs administers to keep him a bit more under control. Chicago's offense isn't good enough to have Rose's matchup score with him like that imo.

[paulgeorge24]

I wouldnt give THAT much credit to Vogel. Even he admits that most of the time, he just tries to get out of the way and let the players do their thing instead of JOB, who tried to force different roles on players. Everyone on this squad knows that we're playing in this series with house money. No one expects us to win a game much less be competitive. Absolutely no pressure on us and all of the pressure on the Bulls.

That being said, we'll see how confident we are when/if we get punched in the mouth to start Game 2.

edit; how was Collison "quietly" effective in game 1? Every other possession it seemed, the commentators were raving about his play...

I'm not talking about the system, I'm talking about the team attitude.

Collison's play was quiet when you consider his counterpart.

I'm also talking about the attitude. When you have a guy who basically destroyed his players' confidence in JOB, all you have to do is get out of their way and dont call them out publicly (example) and you have the results that we've seen since the firing. Before JOB really went downhill with the team's attitude, players were saying the same kinds of things about their ability to compete with the upper echelon of teams.

and still, that play was hardly quiet in the context of your first post. I dont know how you managed to wrap your mind around that. When quiet is used to describe someone's effect on the game, its usually used when a player is scoring every couple of minutes/getting an assist or otherwise nice play. Collison in the first half WAS our offense for long stretches and everyone recognized that. The fact that Rose ended up outscoring him by a landslide does not make his play quiet by any means.

[Miller4ever]

All the raving stopped in the 2nd half, when he only scored 2 points. He was also dishing out assists, but none of them were spectacular dimes, just regular dumps to Hansbrough for shots. Collison's performance was great, and it generated buzz in the first half, but then Granger and Hansbrough started going and people promptly forgot about Collison.

[Wizard of POOH]

I came back a 2nd time to see the victory girls.

[CelticPacer]

In order to win Collison has to exploit Rose's defense.

I'd also like to see Granger have a strong game, I wanna see the ball get to Roy a bit more often, Hansbrough just doing what he did in Game 1, and Paul George still guarding Rose.

[Aiq]

I r helping! Go Pacers