Pacers at Bulls
THE STORY: The Chicago Bulls have been plagued with injuries, but are still on top of the Eastern Conference standings. Chicago is off to a 16-3 start and getting contributions from everyone on the roster. They'll need that trend to continue after learning that versatile forward Luol Deng suffered ligament damage to his left wrist during Saturday’s
95-89 win over the Charlotte Bobcats and could be out for a significant
amount of time. The Indiana Pacers roll into the United Center for the second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday. The Pacers are off to their best start in eight seasons, but they failed to open 6-0 at home losing 102-83 to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. Indiana has had the benefit of playing the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Bobcats, Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets, Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors twice early in the season.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FOX (Indiana), Comcast (Chicago)
ABOUT THE PACERS (11-5): The Pacers are beginning a tough three-game road trip with stops in Chicago, Boston and Orlando this week. Danny Granger has led the way for Indiana averaging 16.1 points per game, but has been criticized for his lack of offensive output this season. The 28-year-old has averaged over 20 points per game the last three seasons and will be crucial to Indiana’s continued success this season. Roy Hibbert has been a pleasant surprise for the Pacers, averaging 9.9 rebounds per game.
ABOUT THE BULLS (16-3): The Bulls have been dealing with multiple injuries through their first 19 games. Their MVP candidate Derrick Rose has missed four games because of turf toe, Taj Gibson has missed two with an ankle injury, Joakim Noah sat out a game with a bad back, and an injured groin has forced backup guard John Lucas III out of the lineup for the past two games. Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver and Jimmy Butler have been productive coming off the bench.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Bulls are 8-0 at home and have won four in a row overall.
2. The Pacers were the only Central Division opponent to defeat the Bulls last season.