After losing their first three games of the season, the Orlando Magic appear to have found the right spell for their woes. On Saturday, they defeated the Washington Wizards on the road, 88-86, to extend their win streak to three games.
The eye test would have it that the Magic are not a very good team talent-wise just yet, but they’ve certainly gotten the job done with a ton of heart from the entire roster. That evening, bench players Jeff Green (18 points) and Bismack Biyombo (12 rebounds and three blocks) pitched in tremendously for the second unit of the team, which got the most playing time in the clutch to seal the victory when all their starters had subpar outings.
It’s quite surprising that Orlando is actually ranked second in the NBA this season with a superb average of 13.2 offensive rebounds per game, and the second-chance points off those boards are what’s keeping them competitive. However, they’re still not scoring as much as you’d like, ranking a mere 27th for the season at just 96.4 points per contest.
And don’t expect the Magic to keep this up on Monday, especially with a tough trip to Chicago ahead. They might’ve won their last road game, but that was only against the bottom-dwelling 76ers and by just two points at that. Overall, they’ve gone just 2-8 in their last 10 contests away from home (SU/ATS), and the Bulls definitely see red when they’re defending their home court this season.
While the Magic have suddenly found their groove, the Chicago Bulls are trending in the opposite direction. Their 111-94 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday is their third-straight defeat after starting off the season with three-straight wins. They also snapped an eight-game streak of 100 or more points scored in a contest.
What made the worse loss for the Bulls was that Indiana’s top superstar, Paul George, was rarely involved in Saturday’s game at all. George was ejected for kicking the ball into the stands in the third quarter, and yet Chicago failed to capitalize on his absence.
The Bulls were very sloppy in their first back-to-back game of the season. Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 16 points in the contest, but he was also accountable for six of his team’s 18 turnovers. Butler and Rajon Rondo combined for 10 turnovers alone, which was nearly the same number of errors committed by the Pacers that entire game (10). Rondo and Dwyane Wade had bad shooting nights as they combined for just 13 points on 5-of-20 shooting from the field.
Nevertheless, the Bulls’ offense still appears potent barring Saturday night’s contest. They’re ranked in the top 10 of the NBA’s main offensive categories this season; seventh in points (109.0), second in rebounding (50.2) and sixth in assists (24.2) per game.
Furthermore, and while Chicago is just 3-4 in its last seven meetings with the Magic (a dismal 0-7 ATS), the team has been shooting lights out at home, topping the 100-point mark in each of its last five at the United Center. If the Bulls get their guns-a-blazing at home once more, they can easily outpace Orlando’s young core on Monday night.
Writer’s Prediction
Chicago and Orlando reverse their respective fortunes as the Bulls win, 101-92.
