Bulls vs. Pacers game preview and thread: another afternoon play-in showdown

As their head of basketball ops said after the trade deadline, his Bulls are not meant to compete with the best in the league, and it was good that Kevin Durant was traded out west. So they only had to face him once and get summarily dismissed.

The Bulls are in competition with a couple tiers lower: the Hawks, Wizards, Raptors, and today’s matchup the Indiana Pacers.

The Bulls are only a game above them in the standings, and just lost to them a couple weeks ago.

This game is, crazily, important for the play-in chase.

Injury Report:

Bulls could be getting a big schedule break here, as Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton is questionable. Aaron Nesmith is also questionable.

For the Bulls, all clean.

Game Time: 2:30 Central, NBC Sports Chicago