Orlando Magic Grades: Chicago Bulls 100, Orlando Magic 92

With a paper-thin backcourt, the Orlando Magic offense looked sloppy in a 100-92 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

VS.

	1	2	3	4	T
Bulls	20	32	26	22	100
Magic	22	27	24	19	92

It was a close game for about three-and-a-half quarters, but the Orlando Magic went cold down the stretch and were unable to catch the Chicago Bulls, falling 100-92 at Amway Center on Tuesday. The Magic are now 11 games worse than .500 and the playoff hopes are dimmer than ever. The Philadelphia 76ers have passed the Magic in the standings.

Without Evan Fournier (heel), Jodie Meeks (thumb) and D.J. Augustin (ankle) the Magic offense looked clumsy. Bad passes and mental mistakes allowed the Bulls to pull away from the Magic in the fourth quarter.

“They got the ball to [Jimmy] Butler and [Dwyane] Wade and let them do their thing,” coach Frank Vogel said. “I thought we did a decent job on those guys. They were able to get some of the other guys involved in the pick and roll game. I thought we made some improvements on the pick-and-roll game. But obviously we have a ways to go.”

For the most part, this game can be chalked up to turnovers. The Magic turned it over 19 times and allowed 24 points off of those mistakes. With all of the injuries, the Magic could not afford to play a sloppy game. The Bulls and in particular Dwyane Wade, took advantage.

Magic coach Frank Vogel tried something new tonight. He decided to start Jeff Green at shooting guard. So, the Magic had only one player under 6-foot-8 in their starting lineup. In today’s NBA that is almost never seen (other than in Milwaukee). It did not work well. The options were slim, but it was clear that the lineup was not gelling offensively.

It did not work well. The options were slim, but it was clear that the lineup was not gelling offensively.

The Magic experimented with their rotations. Frequently mixing and matching players depending on which Chicago players were on the floor. It was an odd sight seeing Damjan Rudez and Mario Hezonja on the floor on a pair of occasions. The experiment may not have gone as planned as Orlando lost another ugly game.

The experiment may not have gone as planned as Orlando lost another ugly game.

C. The Mario Hezonja supporters, and those opposed to seeing him play more minutes, saw a mixture of good and bad tonight. Hezonja would make a nice play, and then would make a mistake on the very next possession. Which has been the kind of performances to expect from Hezonja this season.On offense, Hezonja typically stands in the corner and waits until the ball finds him. So, he usually does not have a chance to make anything happen with his terrific vision. When he does, he looks for the big men on the roster with lob passes near the rim. Which he executes almost perfectly, by the way.Hezonja showed some good things on the defensive side of the ball too. He played with effort and was in the right position more often than not. Still, Hezonja made a few mistakes and left his man wide open for a few easy buckets tonight.Without solid minutes, Hezonja is never going to find a comfort zone. With all the injuries the Magic are dealing with, hopefully Hezonja gets his chance to make an impact.. G/F. Orlando Magic. MARIO HEZONJA

B-. Quietly, <a rel=. C. Orlando Magic. NIKOLA VUCEVIC

Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON. C-. <a rel=. G/F

D. It was a bad night for <a rel=. G. Orlando Magic. ELFRID PAYTON

7th East. CHICAGO BULLS. C+. Early on, the Chicago Bulls looked uninterested and sloppy. Dwyane Wade started off the night ice cold as he missed his first five shot attempts. The veteran eventually turned things around and scored 21 on the night.Chicago would eventually turn it around too. Their offense found some flow. Especially <a rel=. 23-23