The Chicago Bulls visit the Amway Center to take on the Orlando Magic. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 26 and will air on CSC and FxF.
The Magic lost to the Heat 108-97 on Friday. Elfrid Payton had a good game for Orlando, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. The Bulls, meanwhile, are coming off a 106-94 loss to the Knicks on Thursday. Derrick Rose had a game-high 30 points.
Victor Oladipo has really been playing well as of late for the Magic, averaging 26.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.4 steals, 1.8 blocks, and 2.2 three-pointers over the last five games. On the other side, the Bulls have been led by Rose. He has been on a tear, averaging 20.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.2 three-pointers in the same time frame.
Points at the line might be difficult to come by for the Magic in this contest. They are 30th in the league in free throw attempt rate (23.2), while Chicago is among the league’s least foul-prone teams (allowing a free throw attempt rate of just 24.6, third in the NBA).
The two teams have split their matchups this season. The Magic had the upper hand in the most recent game, a 102-89 win. Nikola Vucevic scored a game-high 24 points.
The Magic look to improve upon their records of 29-43 Straight Up (SU) and 40-32 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 29-43 SU and 40-32 ATS versus the Eastern Conference.
Across the court, the Bulls head into the game with records of 29-42 ATS and 36-35 SU. Although they’ve done very well in road games against divisional foes (1-5), Chicago sports a lackluster 2-4 record ATS. Chicago is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, converting .370 of their shots from three-point range. The Bulls are a force on the boards, grabbing an average of 46.7 rebounds per game. Shifting to the other side of the court, teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Bulls, who are the fifth-best team in the league in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .439.
The Magic’s win over Chicago in their last game couldn’t give them the edge in the head-to-head record over the past 10 meetings, where the Bulls still lead 6-4 SU. However, the Magic lead the matchup ATS with a record of 8-2.
Predictions: SU Winner – Chi
Notes
“Orlando is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Orlando’s last 10 games “.
“Orlando is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 6 of Orlando’s last 8 games at home”.
“Orlando is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Chicago”.
“Orlando is 5-14 SU in its last 19 games when playing Chicago”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Orlando’s last 6 games when playing Chicago”.
“Orlando is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago”.
“Orlando is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Chicago”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Orlando’s last 16 games when playing at home against Chicago”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Chicago’s last 16 games when playing on the road against Orlando”.
Chicago ranks 19th in points per game with 101.7, while Orlando ranks 17th in points allowed with an average of 103.4 given up.
Chicago scores an average of 101.7 points per away game (ranked 11th). Orlando ranks 18th in points allowed per home game with 102.1.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Chicago Bulls are a superb 22-3. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Orlando Magic have an underachieving record of 5-24.
Chicago is a subpar 14-32 when it allows 100 or more points. Orlando has a 24-19 record when it hits triple digits.
The Bulls have an offensive rating of 102.2 (ranked 24th), while the Magic rank 16th for their defensive rating of 105.1.
The Orlando Magic average a field goal percentage of 44.8% this season. The Chicago Bulls have a losing record of 9-23 when opponents have a FG% of 44.8% or greater.
On average, Orlando attempts 22.0 three pointers and Chicago attempts 21.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Magic have an 11-16 record while the Bulls have a poor 5-9 record.
Orlando has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.68 this season (ranked 12th). Chicago ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.70 (ranked 10th).
With 46.7 per game, Chicago ranks near the top of the NBA for rebounds at second. Orlando ranks 16th with 43.7.
Orlando is ranked 17th in defensive rebounds, while Chicago ranks eighth in offensive rebounds.
Chicago has forced an average turnover percentage of 11.3% this season. Orlando has a losing 20-35 record when its TOV% is 11.3% or higher.
