Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday night was the preseason opener for the Indiana Pacers, who hosted the Chicago Bulls. The matchup was supposed to be exciting, and it definitely worked out that way to say the least. We all made this game out to be one of the most anticipated games of the preseason, and you could say it deserved the anticipation.

There was the return of Derrick Rose and Danny Granger, and it was a rivalry game that fans always look forward to during the regular season. It was undoubtedly a great game, but you could definitely tell that it was a preseason game.

Paul George and David West led the Pacers with 14 points each. George played a tad over 18 minutes and racked up his 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. George also pulled down five rebounds and tallied two assists. West played 27 minutes and got his 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting. West tallied four rebounds and two assists as well.

George and West looked very strong in the first contest of the season — even though it was only the preseason — and seem to have shaken the rust off during training camp.

Outside of George and West, the team was definitely shaking off some rust. Luckily, it’s only the preseason, and this is the perfect time to get out all of the bad shooting and mistakes. That had to be the case because the game was quite chaotic: lots of fouls, turnovers and sloppy plays. But once again, that’s what the preseason is all about.

Indiana did go on to lose the game 82-76. The team has plenty of time to sharpen the shooting and decision-making, and make the plays run more smoothly before the regular season starts. Even though it is only preseason, athletes never like to lose. It will be interesting to see how Indiana’s players respond to this loss in their next preseason game.