Chicago Bulls' Perseverance Through Injury a Blueprint for Indiana Pacers
CHICAGO — One early August evening in Las Vegas, the Indiana Pacers’ entire world turned upside down. After Paul George’s gruesome, horrific leg injury at a Team USA scrimmage, the Pacers immediately went from a team hoping to stay in title contention to one scrapping for everything it could get.
The Chicago Bulls know all about that. It’s the boat they were in the last two seasons, with Derrick Rose sitting out with serious knee injuries both years. The Bulls had to figure out other ways to win without the former MVP.
To that end, they were a success story, making the playoffs both years. Now, their proven ability to stay focused through injuries is something else: a blueprint for other teams looking to stay competitive with key players out.
“They’ve had success, just by having a winning culture,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said of the Bulls on Saturday, before the Pacers’ 99-90 win in Chicago. “Hopefully we can have something similar to what they’ve accomplished the last couple years with Derrick out.”
It’s been a rough start for Indiana on the injury front. In addition to losing George for the season, the Pacers have been without starting power forward David West and starting point guard George Hill. They’ve also sustained injuries to this summer’s two biggest offseason acquisitions, Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles.
“Obviously, Paul’s injury is very, very unfortunate,” said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. “Great guy, superstar player. But Frank’s a heck of a coach, and their organization has a great history. Their team is well-put together. They have a style of play. They’re tough.”
Vogel has managed to keep his depleted roster competitive through the injuries by preaching the same philosophy that has been a mainstay in Thibodeau’s Bulls locker room: next man up.
“Every team has 13 to 15 guys,” Vogel said. “If you have some guys out, the next guy’s gotta step up. That’s all there is to it. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for you or let you make excuses.”
With their best players out, the Pacers have found other ways to produce. Vogel has gotten solid play out of role players like Chris Copeland (averaging 14.2 points per game) and Donald Sloan and Solomon Hill (12.6 points apiece). And just as Joakim Noah was the Bulls’ anchor last year, Roy Hibbert has kept Indiana’s defense sound even as the club has been short-handed.
“I look at how Joakim played during that stretch, in terms of effort and the way he goes about his business,” Hibbert told Bleacher Report after the game. “He wasn’t the leading scorer for those two years, but he was effective.”
The Pacers have some serious ground to make up if they hope to claw their way into the playoffs, as the last two Rose-less Bulls teams have done. Even after Saturday’s win over the Bulls and Wednesday’s equally impressive road win over the Heat, they’re 4-7. They have the fourth-worst offense in the league, scoring just 97.5 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. But they’ve been staying competitive, losing games by an average margin of just 1.7 points.
The Pacers have also kept a steady approach and belief that they can win with the personnel they have. It’s the mentality that drove the Bulls throughout their success in the past two years.
“That’s the thing about this league—it’s all about mindset,” Noah said at shootaround Saturday morning. “The team that comes with the right mindset has a better chance of winning a basketball game. [The Pacers] are very well coached. They still have talent. They’ve got some hungry players.”
The Bulls’ injuries over the past two years have been blessings in disguise for some of their players. Jimmy Butler blossomed in the 2013 playoffs while Luol Deng was sidelined with a spinal injury. Meanwhile, a procession of scoring guards from Nate Robinson to D.J. Augustin have filled Rose’s void in the backcourt.
Vogel hopes the absence of George, Hill and West will be similarly educational for his unproven players.
“The guys that are getting an opportunity to play are cherishing the opportunity and trying to make the best of it,” Vogel said. “Nobody’s out there looking over their shoulder waiting for somebody to come back. They’re understanding what they have in the room.”
“They’re playing how we used to play,” Bulls forward Taj Gibson said after the game. “Next man stepping up. Guys are gaining confidence, the coach is calling plays for them, and they just do what they do. That team reminds me of us last year.”
Last year, the Pacers were battling LeBron James’ Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the Bulls were fortunate to win 48 games with Rose out. Now, the script has flipped—Chicago has the makings of a team that will be playing in May and June, while Indiana is on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. If the Pacers make it in, it will be a testament to Vogel’s coaching and a shared mentality with the Bulls of years past.
But if there’s any team with the mindset to overcome the long odds they face, this is it.
Sean Highkin covers the Chicago Bulls for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
