By: Naman "Tiny" Buch
The playoffs begin on Saturday at 1:00 pm EST with this matchup. And honestly it seems to be one of the really lopsided matchups in the playoffs. Usually a 1 vs 8 matchup is lopsided but in the West I expect Memphis to at least put up a fight against the Spurs, but not in this series.
Keys to the Bulls winning the series
The Bulls have in my opinion the MVP of the league in Derrick Rose. Rose has taken his game to the next level this season after helping lead Team USA in Turkey this past summer. Rose had claimed he wanted to be the MVP this year and was honestly hungrier this year than any other player in the league. The Bulls in this series need to continue to play the NBA's best defense. Under 1st year Head Coach Tom Thibodeau (In my opinion the Coach of the Year in the league) the defense has allowed 91.1 points per game to the opposition and also provide tough matchups on defense for the Pacers. Another key I believe is the bench. Thibodeau has proven this year to trust the bench much of the time as 11 of his rotation averages double digit minutes. At times honestly, this year Thibodeau placed an entirely separate 5 on the court from his bench. Off of his bench Thibodeau has great options including solid defenders Taj Gibson and Ronnie Brewer, a 3 point specialist in Kyle Korver and also a man who can provide good rebounding and a big body in Omer Asik. The Bulls starting 5 will be nightmare matchups for the Pacers. Rose I believe can easily dominate the smaller Darren Collison. And I expect Carlos Boozer who has came on strong after his early season injuries averaging close to 15 ppg and 9 rpg in the past 2 months. I expect Boozer to manhandle Tyler Hansborough down low on the post.
Keys to The Pacers winning the series
Obviously you can tell that I don't give much of a chance to the Pacers. But Danny Granger may have made it worse, by saying "Boston's a different monster. They don't have the best record in the East but they have won championships. Chicago, they go as Derrick Rose goes. If you make a concerted effort to stop Rose, then you have a better chance of beating them." Granger may have somewhat of a point but he can't be this idiotic and tell the media about this. I mean this just gives the Bulls more fuel and hatred towards Granger and the Pacers. Well, speaking of Granger he has to do well for the Pacers to even make the series competitive. Granger is easily Indiana's first option and will be heavily guarded by Luol Deng, but he needs to be better in the playoffs. In the last 2 months of the season Granger shot 33% from 3 and shot 38% from the field. Granger averages around 22 shots per game and needs to be selective with his shots for the Pacers to keep the series close. With no real #2 option Roy Hibbert needs to also step up. Early on the season Hibbert was averaging close to 18 ppg and 9 rpg. He has steadily declined to a 12.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg in his 3rd season which honestly including myself expected a breakout year to occur. Granger needs to backup his comments about stopping Rose and the Pacers will need to be a team defense to stop Rose and the Bulls options. The Pacers are 23rd in the league in team defense and that isn't acceptable to stop the Bulls. The Pacers I believe did have a spark in their team when assistant coach Frank Vogel was hired leading them to a 20-18 record. However, Indiana I believe cannot compete with the Bulls this time around as I feel that they will be over matched many times and are too young this year. Granger does need more help than Collison and Hibbert around him for this team to be more successful.
Prediction: Bulls in 4 games.
Series Rating: 2.5 stars (I think the most lopsided matchup in the 1st round)
The Bulls should have no problem beating the Pacers as long as they stick to their game of pesky defense and the leadership of Derrick Rose. The Pacers can make this series somewhat competitive but have only beaten the Bulls once this year, and need Granger and Hibbert to have outstanding and starworthy performances.
More playoff previews will be coming before Saturday.
Game 1: Saturday April 16 Indiana @ Chicago 1:00 PM EST on ESPN
Seize the Day people.
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