George, Pacers get defensive against the Bulls

“You look at (the stat) and see what he’s bringing to the table and why he’s so successful when he’s out there being a glue guy and doing the little things”. After making a franchise-record 19 3s on Tuesday, the Pacers were just 8 of 28 from long range on Friday. It was all going to plan for about three minutes, then things quickly turned.

Meanwhile, the Pacers remain under the radar despite winning nine of their last 11 games, including their last three straight.

Paul George and the Indiana Pacers picked up right where they left off before a three-day break.

Despite the individual brilliance of George, he wasn’t alone. Instead, it’s 6-6 C.J. Miles’s job in Indiana’s starting lineup.

The Bulls sent Mahinmi to the line on five consecutive possessions.

If you lacked faith in the chances of this team as a true contender for the championship, your concerns were only heightened after this performance.

George Hill made Derrick Rose disappear defensively. “I was gradually getting better by the week and I’m at the point where I’m at now”.

What might help spring Rose from his slump is getting some easy points. His scoring was bad, the floor game was worse, and if that wasn’t enough, the defense on pick-and-rolls lacked enthusiasm.

After a recent home win in which Allen worked for rebounds, passed up shots for teammates to get better looks, scored just 6 points and yet complied a plus-23, he shuffled back to his locker with two bowls of Cocoa Puffs and mastered the art of deadpanning. “Every game I play, the next day the game is behind me”. He was outplayed by Paul George, and part of the reason may be the foot injury Butler is fighting through.

The Bulls got within four with a few minutes left in the third, but a 6-1 run by the Pacers pushed the lead back to ten as the quarter ended.

“Oh my god. I feel like I played like (bleep) tonight”, Rose said.

On this occasion, Derrick’s words and actions are aligned. He’s capable of going for 40, carrying the offensive load and being the best defensive player on either team. They thought they were wearing the camouflage uniforms and couldn’t find them. When you’re struggling on offense, quick jump shots in the shot clock with no offensive rebounding in place is not a good idea.

Compounding the poor offense issue is the pending problem on transition defense. That’s exactly what happened.

The reserves led by Hinrich and with Mirotic scoring a season high 25 points in probably his most aggressive and controlled play of the season got the Bulls within 51-42 at halftime after they trailed 41-24 earlier in the second quarter. Rose finished with 10 points, five assists and a minus-19 player rating.

Jimmy Butler is matter-of-fact but direct when asked about the Bulls’ offense, which remains a work-in-progress 14 games into Fred Hoiberg’s first season.