The Bulls are on an 8 game winning streak. A few of these wins come against playoff caliber teams, including the 76ers and the Pacers. Tonight, the Magic step into the United Center as the Bulls play against another playoff quality team.
But while the Bulls are doing their best Will Ferrell from Old School impression (streaking … get it?) the Magic are having no such luck. Tuesday night, the Magic blew a 20 point lead to the league worst Charlotte Bobcats to lose by 16. The Magic have been playing to the level of competition, thus resulting in a lot of losses to a lot of bad teams, including the Hornets and the Pistons.
In the last four meetings between the two teams, the Bulls have been able to put the hurting on Orlando, including a 97-83 victory in their last game on January 6th. Dwight Howard was still able to manage 28 points and 15 rebounds, however, and don’t think he won’t play a great game against the Bulls tonight.
After last night’s Derrick Rose buzzer beater over Milwaukee, there should be plenty of momentum for the Bulls. They shouldn’t need a whole lot of it though to get past this hot and cold Magic team.
Derrick Rose has been on an absolute tear since the all-star break, really returning to his MVP roots. You can tell that he isn’t in pain in his back nor foot, which frankly, is a great relief for Chicago Bulls fans. He’s had two 30 point games in the past three games and is averaging 26.3 points and 8.3 assists since the break.
Joakim Noah has been getting double-double after double-double. He has been an absolute monster on the offensive boards. Meanwhile, Luol Deng has been teetering on the edge of mediocrity offensively, but as always his defense has been lock down. He’s also been coming up big with 4th quarter threes.
Richard Hamilton is still listed as day to day, so if he doesn’t play, Ronnie Brewer will be getting another start tonight. Brewer has been playing very well with his extended minutes when he’s in with Rose. CJ Watson is also listed as day to day, and if he doesn’t play, John Lucas will be coming off the bench for him. Lucas has been playing pretty good as of late, providing a little spark off the bench when mixed in with Taj Gibson.
Set your TV tuners to TNT tonight at 7pm for the tipoff. I like when the Bulls get to play games in the prime time slot, but then we don’t get to hear the fancy stylings of Neil Funk and Stacey King. Oh well, I guess the more exposure for the Bulls the better.