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The Eastern Conference's Central Division has four teams jockeying for a postseason appearance right now. Two of them, the Indiana Pacers (15-14; 15-14-0 ATS) and Chicago Bulls (14-18; 16-15-1 ATS) are clashing in United Center on Thursday night. Round two between these franchises is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Back in October, the Bulls won 112-105 in Indiana. Will they take care of business at home, or are the Pacers going to exact revenge on the road?
After the In-Season Tournament Final, Indiana had a 2-6 stretch entering Christmas. The two wins were against the Pistons (2-28) and Charlotte Hornets (7-21). So, taking down the Rockets on Tuesday was a strong step toward regaining their early-season form. Indiana's win was fueled by 33 points and 10 assists from Tyrese Haliburton, the NBA's assists leader. The Pacers are first in offensive rating thanks to the league's best true shooting percentage and scoring the most points per game. They're top-five in efficiency from all three levels of the floor. Indiana is also 11th in turnover percentage and 11th in free throw percentage. They don't get to the charity stripe often or grab many offensive boards, but they don't need to. Indiana's offense is the smoothest operation in the NBA. It's must-see TV on almost any night.
That elite offense needs every point that they can get because of a 28th-ranked defensive rating. Indiana allows the most free throw attempts per game and the highest percentage of shot attempts at the rim. They're 27th in defensive rebounding percentage, 26th in true shooting percentage against, 30th at forcing midrange misses, and 29th in three-point percentage against. Only one team allows more points per game. The second-most blocks per game help the Pacers, but isn't enough to keep opposing teams in check. Indiana is 15th in turnover percentage, which also doesn't mask their many issues. For as strong as they are offensively, the Pacers are just as vulnerable on defense.
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