Open Game Thread #22: Pacers vs. Bulls

Anyone else have an uneasy feeling heading into tonight's matchup against the Chicago Bulls? I'm trying to forget last night, but I feel like I've seen this movie before and it doesn't end well. You know, nagging injuries catch up with the Pacers, then key players seem to lose their offensive stride. The whole teams seems a bit out of sync, and the losses mount regardless of the opponent. It's an all to familiar feeling.

Fortunately, Jim O'Brien is now directing the show, so there is hope that the ol' tired script has been flipped and the ending will spread G-rated joy and happiness to all Pacer fans. Okay, smart ass, save the "yeah, all ten of you" jokes, I'm trying to find some positives here. Family fun will have me watching the game late tonight, hopefully I won't want to skip over many scary parts.

Here's what the efficiency numbers say:

Team	Pace	Off.Eff.	Def.Eff.
IND	98.0(2nd)	105.5(18th)	106.8(13th)
CHI	90.8(13th)	97.1(30th)	104.2(5th)

The Bulls had only broke the 100 point mark in two games prior to last night when the went off for 123 in their win over Seattle. That's just great, glad to see the Bulls finding their offensive stride in time for tonight's game. Drats!

Projected Starters

PACERS	pos.	BULLS
Jermaine O'Neal	F	Ben Wallace
Danny Granger	F	Luol Deng
Troy Murphy	C	Joe Smith
Mike Dunleavy	G	Ben Gordon
Jamaal Tinsley	G	Kirk Hinrich

The Pacers welcomed back Courtney Sims, again. Good for Sims, not good for the short-term health outlook of Jeff Foster and/or David Harrison.

Feel free to leave your thoughts on the game in the comments.