For the purposes of this post, this is going to be the one player from each team that you may not think of that can play a big part in the series and help win it for their team.

Chicago Bulls – Luol Deng

Why Is He Important?

Luol Deng is probably the Bulls’ third best option on the offensive end, but if Chicago is able to get him going, their offense is really tough to stop.  This is because you now have Rose penetrating to the hole, Boozer on the block, and Deng spotting up/cutting without the basketball.  Also, when Deng is hitting his jumpers, he makes it much harder for the defense to help on Rose’s drives or double on Boozer’s post moves.

How Can The Bulls Get The Most Out Of Him?

By using him correctly.  This means keeping him away from Isolation opportunities.  Deng gets isolated in just about 20% of his possessions, and in my opinion that is just way too much, considering how ineffective he is.  Deng is in the bottom quarter of the league in terms of PPP and he is shooting just 34%.  This is due in large part to his slow dribble-drives to the rim:

Here, Deng gets McRoberts switched on him, yet he is able to get by him and get a clean look at the rim.  Deng’s drive is slowed in large part due to his high dribble, and you can really see how it hampers him in this clip.

The Bulls need to keep Deng from dominating the basketball and allow him to do his work off of the basketball.  He is much more successful cutting to the rim (shooting 61%), working off of the ball, both spotting up and coming off of screens (shooting 40% in both categories).  That is where his possessions need to be used for him to be effective and for him to help the Bulls win this series.

Indiana Pacers – Mike Dunleavy Jr.

Why Is He Important?

We already looked at Mike Dunleavy Jr. and his ability to work off of screens away from the basketball, but as it turns out, Dunleavy Jr. might be the Pacers best offensive option overall.  He simply does a number of things very well, and if the Pacers get him going, the Bulls’ defense might have trouble trying to stop him.  How Can The Pacers

Get The Most Out Of Him?

In addition to screens away from the basketball, Dunleavy Jr. is in the top 10 percent of PPP when it comes to spotting up.  Much like when he gets the ball coming off of screens, it all comes down to footwork for Dunleavy Jr. and that is how is he able to get quick and accurate shots up.  Dunleavy Jr. also is very good at reading the defense and spotting up accordingly:

Here, the ball goes into Roy Hibbert and Dunleavy Jr.’s man turns his attention to Hibbert in the paint.  Instead of just standing there and hoping the basketball comes to him, Dunleavy Jr. spots up at the top of the key, where he gets the ball and knocks down the open jumper.

If Dunleavy Jr. knocks down shots early, the Bulls will be hesitant to leave him and that could hurt both their pick and roll defense and their defense in the post.