Bulls Vs Magic Possible Preview

[ChitownBulls]

This a article from Hoopsworld, check it out...

The Bulls have been one of the hottest teams in the East down the stretch, stringing together five straight wins, and are marching up the playoff standings. The Magic, meanwhile, have struggled against some of the lower-echelon teams in the East, knocking themselves out of contention for the #2 spot with less than impressive effort.

View Steve Kyler Archive The Magic will open the playoffs on Sunday and look poised to host Chicago. Here is a look at how each team matches up.

Point Guard – Rafer Alston vs. Derrick Rose – There is almost no debate on whether Derrick Rose, even as a rookie, is a better all around player than Rafer Alston, and he gives the Bulls their clearest advantage. However since joining the Magic at the trade deadline not only has Alston's defense improved in Orlando's system, but his assist numbers and points have increased, as well. Alston's experience and poise likely give him the leg up in handling the expectations of the playoffs, but Rose's all-around game-changing talent give the Bulls the edge at the point guard spot.
Advantage — Chicago .
 
Shooting Guard – Courtney Lee vs. Ben Gordon – Magic rookie Courtney Lee is arguably the best defender in the rookie class, and he has held his own against some of the best in the league. For Chicago, Ben Gordon is one of the best at getting to spots on the floor and killing opposing defenses offensively. Lee's offensive game is easy to overlook because he is not considered a primary option, however with Gordon being so focused offensively the Magic could have an advantage with Lee as a scorer. That's likely not going to offset Ben Gordon's offensive production.
Advantage —Chicago.
 
Small Forward – Hedo Turkoglu vs. John Salmons – Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu has not been anywhere close to as deadly as he was last season, when he won the NBA's Most Improved award. Hedo, however, does posses an uncanny mix of size, outside shooting and playmaking that make him tough to guard, especially in the fourth quarter. Bulls forward John Salmons is arguably one the most efficient players in the league, and will create huge matchup problems for the bigger, slower Turkoglu. Both players are gifted offensively and both players play passable defense. You could truly a flip a coin on this position.
Advantage — Push – neither has a huge advantage.
 
Power Forward – Rashard Lewis vs. Tyrus Thomas – Magic forward Rashard Lewis creates mismatches for virtually everyone. He is long and athletic and can hit the three-pointer like few players his size. Rashard's game-changing size forces bigger players to the outside and really opens the floor for Orlando's inside game.  Lewis has been very streaky of late, but when his shots are falling Orlando is all but unbeatable. Tyrus Thomas, while having a solid season, is dreadfully outmatched with Lewis. Lewis is one of the few players in the league that can match Thomas' athletic game, and when Thomas is forced to be a jump shooter the Bulls are very beatable.
Advantage — Orlando.
 
Center – Dwight Howard vs. Joakim Noah – Chicago's Joakim Noah has really flourished this season, however his lack of size and physical presence make him a non-factor against Orlando All-Star Dwight Howard. The advantage here is clearly Howard's and while Noah has played well down the stretch against Dwight Howard, he tends to get into foul trouble quickly.
Advantage — Orlando.
 
Bench – Pietrus/Johnson/Battie/Gortat vs. Hinrich/Miller/Thomas – The Bulls' bench is respectable, and features more "named" players than Orlando. The luxury of having a guard of Kirk Hinrich's caliber to spell Derrick Rose gives the Bulls a huge playmaking advantage, and the outside shooting of Brad Miller will pose problems for Orlando. Magic forward Mickael Pietrus tends to be streaky and foul prone, but his length, defense and outside shooting are areas where Chicago will have to focus a lot of attention. Tony Battie and Marcin Gortat have emerged recently as staples in Orlando's second unit. Both play solid defense and both are hitting mid-range jump shots while Orlando's starters are on the bench. This one is clearly an "eye of the beholder" call, and given Chicago's named players the advantage goes to Chicago, although the margin is fairly small.
Advantage — Chicago.
 
Coaching – Stan Van Gundy vs. Vinny Del Negro – This is where Orlando is clearly far and away ahead of Chicago. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is arguably one of the best tactical coaches in the game, and in the postseason, where preparation will be key, Orlando has a huge advantage over Chicago. Vinny Del Negro has been impressive since the trade deadline, but when it comes to pure X's and O's Vinny simply does not have anything close to Van Gundy's experience or résumé. The Bulls do have momentum on their side. If Vinny can keep his young team rolling he could go a long way towards proving his doubters wrong, but until he does that the advantage goes to Orlando.
Advantage — Orlando.


If this matchup holds true, it will be a good one to watch, for sure. The Bulls have the better backcourt, while the Magic have a far superior front court. If the Bulls find a way to get Dwight Howard in early foul trouble the Bulls could win more than a few games in this series. Orlando will have to shake the funk they are in now, though they do own the regular season series 3-1 versus the Bulls. On paper, Orlando looks like the favorite for a lot of reasons, however this one may end up a lot closer to call than you might think.
 
Final prediction— Orlando in seven.

[GMJames]

Jinx?
Let's not get ahead of ourselves Chitownbulls.

But I still say if we play them we use the Slap Supaman tactic on Howard. Because their Offense runs through him. They play a classic Inside/Outside game. But first we gotta beat the Raptors.

BULLS IN 5 or 6

[ChitownBulls]

Yea when i saw this article i was really suprised, i couldnt believe they actaully wrote this with all the possibilities still open. But if it does come down to this and i hope it does, I agree with pretty much what the article says. Rashard Lewis in the last couple years has really just focused on his outside game. I never see him in the post anymore...Hopefully Tyrus and the Bulls staff will see that. But yea Slap Superman is fine with me lol As long as you keep D Howard a little bit out of paint and you force him to take those jump hooks, thats fine with me. You dont need to double team him. I really think the Bulls can go to Orlando for that first game and beat them though. Were hot right now, there not.

[GMJames]

Thier kinda like San Antonio. If you double team Duncan, Then PArker, Ginobili, Bowen, Mason etc. will kill you from deep. If Duncan gets 50 and you shut down the rest of the spurs they lose. Same with the Magic. So I would just frustrate Howard and foul him, never let him get into the flow of the game. And never leave thier shooters alone. He is a great shot blocker too, So transition buckets are key or using Noah & Miller's passing to get him out of position. He is less dangerous sitting next to Van Gundy.

[ChitownBulls]

+2 i agree

[Jason Rubin]

If Turkoglu stays out, we should be pretty capable of taking the series.  Don't get me wrong, Howard/Lewis/Gortat is a solid 4-5 rotation.  But without Nelson and Turkoglu, their jump-shooting will mainly rely on Lewis - who will not shoot lights out every night.  Our 1, 2 and 3 trumps theirs.  And while we have no answer for Howard defensively, we do offensively.  That is, Brad Miller will force Howard to play the high post.  This will open up the key for driving unless Howard wants to leave Miller open for jumpshots.  I think we'll just kill them overall offensively.  But as long as we can contain their 1-4 positions overall - which won't be too difficult - we should continue to beat them.  It doesn't matter if Howard puts up 30-20 games as long as the rest of his crew isn't firing on all cylinders.  And luckily for us, we have plenty of scorers to rely on even if some of our guys aren't playing well.

[No Pressure]

Yea don't get you hopes up at all for Playing Orlando.  The 76ers need to win against the Cavs tonight and guess what?  Cleveland isn't playing Lebron, Z, Mo Williams, and  Joe Smith so the odds are against us.

[ChitownBulls]

I know doesnt that pi$$ you off...

[GMJames]

Again...... If the Bulls Win. Even if the Sixers Win , We are still 6th by a half game.

[No Pressure]

Again...... If the Bulls Win. Even if the Sixers Win , We are still 6th by a half game.

well actually you are right and wrong James.  If the Bulls win they get the 6th seed.  If they lose and the 76ers win than they get the 7th seed,  If the Bulls win and the 76ers win though, the Bulls will be a game up since the NBA season is only 82 games.

[GMJames]

Again...... If the Bulls Win. Even if the Sixers Win , We are still 6th by a half game.

well actually you are right and wrong James.  If the Bulls win they get the 6th seed.  If they lose and the 76ers win than they get the 7th seed,  If the Bulls win and the 76ers win though, the Bulls will be a game up since the NBA season is only 82 games.

WTF? Isn't that what I just said? No matter what the 76ers do, All we gotta do is win.

[vitalnerve]

yeah as long as we win tonight we are the 6th seed...not getting my hopes up too high, but we certainly have a shot at beating toronto.

[No Pressure]

Again...... If the Bulls Win. Even if the Sixers Win , We are still 6th by a half game.

well actually you are right and wrong James.  If the Bulls win they get the 6th seed.  If they lose and the 76ers win than they get the 7th seed,  If the Bulls win and the 76ers win though, the Bulls will be a game up since the NBA season is only 82 games.

WTF? Isn't that what I just said? No matter what the 76ers do, All we gotta do is win.

you said we would be up a half a game even though the regular season would be over...

[ChitownBulls]

LETS JUST WIN TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO BULLS!!!!!!!!!!!

[GMJames]

Amen. This is like talking sports with a bunch of librarians or english teachers.