Orlando Magic Blog

Group Blog talking about the NBA 2009 Eastern Conference Champions. Due to the amazing success of the 2009 playoff run comments are now frequently deleted to kill offensive comments, incoherence, or asininity. Comments can no longer be anonymous and require either a Blogger or OpenID account.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Magic/Bulls preview

The Magic (27-30, 9-18 road, T8th East) start a very difficult 4 game road trip MON night in CHI (32-26, 22-7 home, 5th East). The Bulls are coming off a tough 95-93 loss SUN at DET, where CHI could not hold on to a 16 pt 3rd quarter lead. G Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 21 pts. The Magic have lost 14 of their last 16 road games.

CHI is led in scoring by Gordon at 20.8 ppg; F Luol Deng 18.8 ppg, 7.2 rebs; G Kirk Hinrich 16.0 ppg, 6.3 asts; F Andres Nocioni, who has plantar fasciitis and is out indefinitely, 14.8 ppg; and C Ben Wallace 6.3 ppg, 10.5 rebs, 2.2 blocks. CHI averages 98.9 ppg while allowing 94.7 ppg. ORL averages 94.1 ppg, while allowing 93.8 ppg.

This will be the first meeting of the 2 teams since opening day NOV 1st, when the Magic dominated the Bulls 109-94 and made the hopes so high for Magic fans, only to see those hopes come crashing down over the last month. CHI has won 6 of the last 8 over the Magic. Bulls are favored by 6 1/2 pts (www.pinnaclesports.com).

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 3:20 PM  

5 Comments:

  • At 3:40 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    I guess I could have made the 40 mile drive to the United Center, but on a cold night I'd rather be in front of the TV watching, and not put up with traffic, parking, etc.

    The Magic will be hard-pressed to win 1 game on this road trip. With Ariza back, I do expect the Magic to at least compete, and not get blown out.

    I've watched the Bulls over the last week, and they are playing much better than they were before the All-Star Break. But with Nocioni out, that thins their bench depth and might give the Magic a chance tonight if the Magic come ready to compete.

    I. too, want changes on the Magic, and Brian Hill to be replaced, but I won't root for the Magic to lose. I still want the team to somehow make the playoffs in spite of our coach. I'm not going to give up with the team tied for the last spot, and an easier schedule the final month.

     

  • At 3:57 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    I just saw Brian Schmitz's Basketblog and agree with him 100% that Ariza should be starting. His defensive abilities and all-around hustle would put the Magic in better position to win games than having to put up with Turkoglu's wildly inconsistent shooting and lack of defense. Turkoglu would help the Magic more coming off the bench.

     

  • At 4:42 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Mike i dont think any of us root for the magic to lose,but accepting the best fate for the magic is something i have done,when i watch the magic i find myself pulling for the guys to pull out games even though i know we'll eventually lose in the end because our coach is clueless,FOR ME thats the best way i can cope with losses,i just keep telling myself that they'll get the coach fired.Also i would be willing to bet we all unanimously agree with brian.Tonight's pre-game anaysis:attack the basket,everybody should take the ball to the rim,the bulls are horrible at blocking shots,factor in that they are undersized to boot and that means everybody should go to the hoop even more,only way you beat small scrappy teams is keeping the ball above the rim(lobs,floaters in the lane,offensive rebounds)and not taking a ton of jumpshots.

     

  • At 5:18 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    1 - I agree that the experience of making to the play-offs, even in the event of being swept in the first round, has some value for the young players. However, that value when weighed against having to put up with Hill for one more year does not make sense. I am certain that if magic makes to the play-offs, Hill and smith will it count it as a success.
    2 - I agree with Big Figure that Bull's being a jumpshooting team, if come out cold, are beatable on any given night. That, however, depends that Hill sticks to our strength of the bigger frontline rather than matching up with Bull's small ball. That is exactly what Hill did against Houston by keeping Darko out for the entire 4th quarter playing either Hedo or Trevor as the big forward. In the 3rd period, when Dwight was out, he did the same. I would like to see that we stick to our strength a lot more.

     

  • At 8:34 PM, Blogger Ken said…

    I'll admit that, at times, I have secretly rooted for the Magic to loose out of shear frustration and total contempt for BSH... The Magic can very much win this game, but like matt and big point out, taking the ball to the rim, and BSH forcing the bulls to match up with us instead of the other way around are key.

     

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