This Friday, the (4-11) Orlando Magic will travel to Chicago, IL to take on the (6-9) Chicago Bulls. Tipoff will be at 8:00 PM EST inside the United Center. Neither of these teams has started this regular season how they would have liked, as they will both be looking to get hot in this one.
The Magic are coming into this one after falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 126-108. They struggled on both ends of the floor, but they were even worse on defense. They will need to consistently make more stops if they want to stay competitive in this game.
The Chicago Bulls are entering this matchup after losing to the New Orleans Pelicans, 124-110. They also had issues on both ends of the court, but they allowed the Pelicans to shoot 50.6% from the floor. They will have to have to apply more pressure and contest more shots if they want to escape this game with a win.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Orlando Magic are currently in 13th place in the Eastern Conference standings and eight games back from the first-place Boston Celtics. They have also gone (4-6) in their last 10 games played, as they continue to slide in the wrong direction. On offense, the Magic are scoring 109.9 points per game and they are shooting 47.5% from the floor. This is the 21st most points scored per game and the ninth-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Magic have an adjusted offensive rating of 109.9, which is the 24th-lowest rating in the league. Orlando has also struggled to consistently knock down jumpers from behind the arc. They are only shooting 33.6% from deep, which is the 24th-highest percentage in the NBA. Paolo Banchero continues to lead this team, as he is scoring 23.5 points per game on 46.1% shooting from the field. He is currently listed as questionable with an ankle injury for this contest, though. Check the injury report for this game before placing your wager. The Magic have also struggled at the free-throw line, as they are only knocking down 79% of their shots at the charity stripe. This is the 11th-highest percentage in the NBA, as they can't miss out on these free looks and still expect to win these games.
On defense, the Magic have struggled to apply enough pressure to get consistent stops. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Magic have an adjusted defensive rating of 113.4, which is the 22nd-highest rating in the league. They are allowing their opponents to shoot 46.1% from the floor and score 113.3 points per game. This is the 16th most points allowed and the 12th lowest shooting percentage surrendered from the field. Their perimeter defense has been great, though. They are only allowing their opponents to shoot 34.5% from deep, which is the eighth-lowest percentage in the league. They must continue contesting shots from the outside and near the rim if they want to stay competitive in these games.
Injury Report: Paolo Banchero PF (Ankle), Wendell Carter Jr. C (Foot) are listed as questionable for this game. Cole Anthony PG (Oblique), Moritz Wagner C (Foot), Gary Harris SG (Knee), Markelle Fultz PG (Toe) are listed as out.
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