Orlando Magic at Chicago Bulls
Friday, 1/28/10, 8:00 PM EDT
Opening Point Spread: Chicago -1
Current Betting Line: Pick
Opening Total: 188
Current Total: 187.5
Orlando is looking to win its season high-tying third straight road win and defeat Chicago for the second time in two tries during the 2010-11 season. The Magic have actually dominated the last three meetings against the Bulls, winning those match-ups by an average of 26.0 points. “Chicago is playing great right now, especially on defense,” said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. “We’re going to have our hands full.” The squad has done a great job in containing All-Star guard Derrick Rose when facing Chicago, holding him to an average of just 13.1 points, which is his lowest versus one opponent. Orlando is 9-13 ATS on the road this season and 5-5 ATS against Central division opponents. Bettors will want to monitor the NBA lines page throughout the day on this particular contest.
The Magic have won 10 of the last 12 regular season meetings between the two teams and have actually won seven of the last nine outings at Chicago. Orlando is coming off an impressive 111-96 win at Indiana on Wednesday, hitting 16 of 34 shots from beyond the arc. “It’s pick your poison with us,” said Ryan Anderson. “If Dwight has it going inside, it’s hard to get out on all of the shooters that we can put on the floor.” Orlando is currently 13-10 on the road this season and has compiled an impressive 92-54 mark away from the Amway Center under head coach Stan Van Gundy.
Chicago comes into this contest off a three-day break and hope that the time off has healed its star guard coming into a crucial Eastern Conference contest Friday night. Rose has been recovering from stomach ulcers and an aching back, but has still managed to average 23.7 points during the team’s mini three-game winning streak. The Bulls currently lead the NBA in defensive field-goal percentage (.423) and rank third in points allowed (92.3), leaving Milwaukee head coach Scott Skiles impressed. “One of the keys to me is that Rose has become a better defender,” he commented. “They’re running away with the Central division.” Chicago is 8-2 ATS when playing with three or more days rest over the past three years.
The Bulls are a dominating 21-4 overall at home this season and that record includes a solid 13-3 mark versus Eastern Conference opponents. Chicago has compiled a dismal 6-13 record against Orlando over the last five seasons, but still has a 23-18 lead in the series in games played in the Windy City. In order to turn things around in this particular series, the team will need to continue playing its spectacular defense, which has held foes to 81.2 points per game on .383 shooting from the field the past five games.
Bettors will be interested in backing the Magic due to their 4-1 ATS mark in the last five meetings, while the Bulls are 16-34-1 ATS versus the Southeast division.
