Pacers host Bulls on Monday, NBA releases in-season tournament court designs

The Pacers take on a familiar foe in the Chicago Bulls at the Fieldhouse on Monday night.

The Pacers play the first of four games against the Chicago Bulls on Monday night. The Bulls continue to roll out their collection of misfit toys with individual talent in Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic who individually look great on paper but have continually struggled to improve as a collective group over the past few years.

Of course, the Bulls expected Lonzo Ball to be heading into his prime and running the show for the scoring talent around him, he will miss another season as the window on this group is set to close.

This group of Bulls has always presented problems for the Pacers, as the teams have split the last eight games over the past two years. However, the Pacers have won the last three games and have tried to improve their roster with strong early results.

Slowing down DeRozan and LaVine will be the toughest test yet, as we should expect a contrast in styles. The Bulls will try to slow the pace while the Pacers will try to continue their league-leading offensive attack as fast as they can.

In-Season Tournament Court

The NBA released the court designs all 30 teams will use for the upcoming in-season tournament. All of the courts have the same design with different color schemes and logos. The Pacers host the Cavs on Friday in the first game that will also count for the tournament so new court will be on display with the City uniforms. Until seeing the uniformity of the court designs, this was certainly jarring compared to what we are used to. Must say, though, I love the shade of blue which should contrast with the Pacers dark City unis.

First impression brought me back to MTV Rock N’ Jock games.

Game Details

Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

When: Monday, Oct. 30, 2023

TV: Bally Sports

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

Projected Starters

Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Bruce Brown, Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin, Myles Turner

Bulls: Coby White, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Patrick Williams, Nikola Vucevic

Injuries

Pacers: None

Bulls: Zach LaVine (back spasms) - probable, Lonzo Ball (knee surgery) - out, Dalen Terry (G League assignment) - out