Pacers Pick Up a Win

After the In-Season Tournament Final, Indiana had a 2-6 stretch entering Christmas. The two wins were against the Pistons (2-28) and Charlotte Hornets (7-21). So, taking down the Rockets on Tuesday was a strong step toward regaining their early-season form. Indiana’s win was fueled by 33 points and 10 assists from Tyrese Haliburton, the NBA’s assists leader. The Pacers are first in offensive rating thanks to the league’s best true shooting percentage and scoring the most points per game. They’re top-five in efficiency from all three levels of the floor. Indiana is also 11th in turnover percentage and 11th in free throw percentage. They don’t get to the charity stripe often or grab many offensive boards, but they don’t need to. Indiana’s offense is the smoothest operation in the NBA. It’s must-see TV on almost any night.

That elite offense needs every point that they can get because of a 28th-ranked defensive rating. Indiana allows the most free throw attempts per game and the highest percentage of shot attempts at the rim. They’re 27th in defensive rebounding percentage, 26th in true shooting percentage against, 30th at forcing midrange misses, and 29th in three-point percentage against. Only one team allows more points per game. The second-most blocks per game help the Pacers, but isn’t enough to keep opposing teams in check. Indiana is 15th in turnover percentage, which also doesn’t mask their many issues. For as strong as they are offensively, the Pacers are just as vulnerable on defense.

Chicago Chugging Along

Quietly, the Bulls have been playing solid basketball lately, with a 9-4 record since November 30. All of that has coincided with Zach LaVine’s injury absence, one that will extend into this game. Now, Nikola Vucevic is also down, missing the last game and receiving an indefinite injury timeline. Without those two, the Bulls still moved to 10-8 at home on Tuesday behind Andre Drummond’s 24-point, 25-rebound performance. Chicago is thriving through a defense that has risen to 16th in defensive rating. They use the league’s fifth-highest turnover percentage to punish opponents. It helps mask that the Bulls allow opponents to take 45.0% of their shots from deep, more than any other team. It also hides below-average defensive rebounding. Chicago is decent at forcing misses at every level, but coming up with steals is easily their greatest strength.

On the offensive end, the Bulls are also great at ball security, with the fourth-lowest turnover percentage. Chicago is also a decent offensive rebounding squad. However, the Bulls are 22nd in offensive rating because they’re 27th in true shooting percentage. They take the second-highest percentage of midrange attempts but only convert 41.9% of them. The team is only shooting 59.7% (27th) at the rim. Chicago is also only 25th in free throw attempts per game. A 36.4% clip on three-pointers and 79.5% accuracy at the free throw line keeps the offense afloat efficiency-wise. Things have been better, but Chicago is still subpar on offense.