Pacers Finally Beat Bulls. 89-84; Rose Injured

The Indiana Pacers finally beat the Chicago Bulls, 89-84. However, while a number of people have been saying the Pacers have been proving they are as good as the Bulls this game, though a win, really showed just the opposite -- Indiana has a ways to go before they are in Chicago's league.

Cliff Brunt has posted an article at the NBA.com website titled "Pacers beat Bulls 89-84 to avoid elimination."

The Pacers did what they have wanted to do for three games. They got an 18-point lead. In the other three games they led routinely by single digits and lost the game in the last few minutes. In this game they came within one shot of being tied despite their "insurmountable" lead.

The Bulls put on a miserable performance. They continued to turn the ball over. Indiana proved once again that if you double-team Derrick Rose, he would rather try to win the game than pass the ball. The Bulls didn't know what to do on the last possession and as a result, instead of having a red-hot Kyle Korver give the Bulls a chance at tying the game, they had Carlos Boozer shoot. He was out of his range.

The Bulls now have a major concern. Derrick Rose sprained his ankle. After hurting it on a drive he was taken out of the game for a little time but returned. He wasn't himself afterward. The Bulls got back into the game because Joakim Noah stepped up and started working hard.

Once again the Bulls shot under 40 percent.

What's wrong with the Bulls?

The problem is that Indiana has been allowed to commit fouls of a beastly nature. Commissioner Stern was in attendance presumably to lend some sanity to poor refereeing. The refs called closer fouls but mostly on Chicago.

In a review Pacer Jeff Foster's fouls from game three were changed to flagrant. Two more and he gets suspended. That the fouls had to be reviewed rather than called at the time reflects the terrible one-sided officiating that has gone on.

The bottom line is that this series has been disappointing. Chicago has not played well and Indiana has bullied rather than played putting me in mind of the 1980s Detroit Pistons.

In any event at this point whatever Chicago's chances were have diminished due to Rose's injuries. The main reason is Chicago has not been working on their supporting cast.

Reference:

NBA.com Website, "Pacers beat Bulls 89-84 to avoid elimination"