It sounds grim: The Indiana Pacers are down two games to none against the no. 1 seeded Chicago Bulls; they've let likely MVP Derrick Rose go bananas in both games (39 points in Game 1 and 36 in Game 2); then they could only watch on in horror as Darren Collison tripped over a baseline-seated, long-legged photographer's lumberjack boot after an important lay-in, late in the second quarter of Monday night's 96-90 loss, an ankle injury that might keep him out of Thursday's game, possibly longer.
Believe it or not, though, hope remains.
And here's why.
1. This is my house -- nothing is more important than the edge playing at home gives.
In Chicago's first two home games they benefitted from not only their red and white draped fans, but more importantly from the black and white draped refs. While the foul discrepancy is only seven (the Bulls have racked up 45 fouls, the Pacers 52), Chicago has attempted 66 free throws compared to Indiana's 44 free throws. Expect the Blue & Gold fans to help the zebra-striped officials level that disparity out in Indianapolis.
It's not just officiating at home that'll help the Pacers, though. There is also the wonderfully simple idea that Conseco Fieldhouse is home to these guys. The Pacers know the rims better than anyone; they know the soft spots to avoid on the court, where a much-needed high and tight bounce becomes a low, flat, easily stolen dribble; they're even familiar with the smudges on the backboard, the ones to avoid and the ones that are the perfect spot to aim a short order bank shot in the waning moments of a close game. The point is: everything the Pacers do Thursday and Saturday -- good or bad -- will feel familiar, easier to correct when it's wrong, easier to keep doing when it's right.
2. The more prolific a scorer Derrick Rose becomes, the closer we get -- these two teams have played six times now. The Bulls have won five of the meetings, with the sole Pacers' win coming late in the season in an overtime thriller, despite a mind numbing, career-high tying 42-point performance from Derrick Rose.
When Rose is forced to do more, the games -- so far this season -- have been a whole lot closer than when Rose is in the passing mood. There's the 42 point game in the aforementioned 115-109 overtime loss. Then you have Game 1 of the current series in which Rose had 39 points and his team narrowly escaped with a five-point edge. And in Game 2, it was more of the same. Rose had 36 points, and the Bulls won by six.
However, in the Bulls' three regular season wins, all of which were double-digit blowouts, Rose averaged a not-so-MJ-incarnate 22 points per game. Instead he did it with passing, averaging a shade under 10 assists a game (29 assists in three games).
In the two games so far this postseason, though, Rose has 12 assists total, and his team's average margin of victory has gone from over 17 points a game in the regular season to a dangerously narrow 5.5 point advantage, a manageable figure the Pacers will look to overcome the following two games, given Rose's playoff-propensity to shoot first, pass only when Kyle Korver is open for 3.
3. Paul George is so defensive -- George let everyone know he gave up just two baskets against Derrick Rose on Twitter after Game 1:
"I got cooked by rose? He made 2 shots on me," George (@King24George) tweeted.
He doesn't need to defend himself from critics, though; his defense says it all.
In Game 2, George lived up to his tweet-hype, snatching away three steals, as well as breaking up a number of Bulls' fastbreaks with his long and always active arms, giving the Pacers stops they had to have and neglecting scoring opportunities for the Bulls that could have easily seen them run away with Game 2.
On top of George's thievery, he played even better above the rim. He had four blocks in Game 2, none more impressive than an early first quarter, come-from-behind, rundown swat on a fast-breaking Rose, who thought he had just laid in another coast-to-coast dandy. George's rejection send the ball rocketing out of bounds like a comet. And when George finally landed from space after the play, he looked mean, tough, assure of himself. The bench erupted. It was the perfect defensive statement to open a game, one that helped the Pacers hold the Bulls to just 17 first quarter points.
The Pacers are home now, they're going to start getting some calls they weren't getting in Chicago. They'll have the fan adoration going for them. Even with Collison's status unknown, as long as Derrick Rose is scoring and Paul George is defending, this series is very much in the balance. The Pacers are still alive.
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Game 3 is Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. and can be seen locally on FSIHD or nationally on NBATV.
Game 4 is Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. and can be seen on TNT.
Few tickets remain for games 4 and can be purchased either directly through Ticketmaster.com or by phone through the Conseco Fieldhouse Box Office at (317) 917-2727.
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