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 It wants the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and the only
way the Pacers think they can get there is by winning every night.
So rather than savor the best start in franchise history, the
longest winning streak in the franchise's NBA history or the first
9-0 start in the league since 2002-03, the Pacers are going back to
work with one goal Saturday — beating Chicago.
"We really started the year with that mindset knowing that Chicago's
going to make a run at some point, Miami's going to make a run at
some point, and we've just kept that in the back of our minds in
terms of winning the games that we feel like we should win," power
forward David West said after Indiana's latest victory, a 104-77 win
over Milwaukee on Friday night.
Indiana has taken advantage of its early chances, too.
In less than three weeks, the Pacers have already built a three-game
lead on Miami in the East and hold a four-game edge over the Bulls
(4-3) in the Central Division. Another win Saturday would make
Indiana the 14th team in league history to go 10-0 and put Indiana
on the cusp of matching the franchise's longest winning streak ever,
11 games in 1972-73 when the Pacers were still an ABA powerhouse.
Beat the Bulls, and there's no telling how long this streak could
go.
After Chicago, they get a three-day break before heading to the
Knicks. They back-to-back games at Boston and at home against
Philadelphia next weekend before closing November by hosting
Minnesota, traveling to Charlotte and returning home to face
Washington. Then they embark on a weeklong West Coast swing that
starts against the Clippers.
Some Pacers fans are already eyeing the league record start: 15-0 by
the Washington Capitols in 1948-49 and matched by Houston in
1993-94, according to STATS.
Players and coaches, however, are so focused on Saturday's game,
they're not even pondering the ramifications of what another win
over Chicago would mean — a five-game lead and clinching at least a
split in the four-game season series. The only things they care
about are getting better and beating whomever shows up on the
schedule next.
"We have Chicago (Saturday), might as well just get a little bit a
rest," center Roy Hibbert said when asked whether he would have
liked to have played more minutes Friday night when he fell two
blocks short of a triple double. "That's going to be a big game
tomorrow."
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The Bulls could be at a disadvantage Saturday.
Derrick Rose, the NBA's 2011 MVP, missed Friday night's game at
Toronto with a right hamstring injury. Team officials said Rose
would be re-evaluated before Saturday night.
If Rose can't play, Kirk Hinrich would likely start. Hinrich
scored 12 points in Chicago's first road win of the season and
played well when Rose sat out last year with a knee injury.
"Kirk's a great player, man," Bulls forward Carlos Boozer said
after Chicago's 96-80 victory over the Raptors. "He's
underrated. He does a great job running our team, gets us in our
sets. He hit some big shots in the third and fourth quarter for
us, too."
Even with Rose, the Pacers still blew out Chicago 97-80 last
week — Indiana's most lopsided win until Friday night's blowout.
So far, nobody has played better than the Pacers. They're
allowing a league-low 83.7 points per game and are limiting
opponents to 38.6 percent shooting — easily the best defensive
field goal percentage in the league. Indiana has the highest
scoring differential (plus-12.2), the most blocks by a team
(81), the league's No. 1 shot blocker in Hibbert (4.8) and is
one of only five teams with at least three road wins this
season.
The Bulls have been here before.
In March, without Rose, Chicago ended Miami's 27-game winning
streak, and the Bulls would love to it again.
"It'll be a great test," Hinrich said. "They're playing as good
as anybody in the league right now."
The Pacers insist there is no time for a break.
While they did start sluggishly against the injury-riddled Bucks
after a three-day layoff, the Pacers quickly seized control. The
trailed just twice all night, for a total of 64 seconds, and
then steadily pulled away.
But as they chase the top seed in the East and what they hope
will lead to their first NBA title in June, the Pacers have no
plan to let off the gas — or take a break.
For them, it's all about putting the championship pieces
together.
"Every game could be the difference between home-court advantage
and not having home-court advantage, whether we're playing team
with a losing record on the road or a great team like Chicago,
it doesn't matter," coach Frank Vogel said. "We're on a mission
and we're trying to put ourselves in best possible position come
playoff time."
[Associated
Press; MICHAEL MAROT, AP Sports Writer]
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