Orlando Magic vs. Chicago Bulls (Jan. 23, 2022): 3 Things To Watch, Odds and Prediction
The Orlando Magic look to settle into their five-game homestand and rebound after another frustrating second-half performance in yet another loss.
Orlando Magic (8-39) vs. Chicago Bulls (28-16)
Time/TV: 6 p.m./Bally Sports Florida
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Line via WynnBet: Bulls by 3
Tickets: $29-$453 on StubHub
2022 Season Series: Bulls 123, Magic 88 in Orlando on Nov. 26; Bulls 102, Magic 98 in Chicago on Jan. 3; Tonight in Orlando; Feb. 1 in Chicago
| Pace | Off. Rtg. | Def. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 98.9 | 111.9 | 109.6 | 53.9 | 24.4 | 13.2 | 23.7 |
| Orlando | 98.7 | 102.9 | 112.1 | 49.4 | 26.4 | 14.9 | 22.4 |
OMD Prediction
The Orlando Magic are going to be desperate for a win. They need to get some home wins to give themselves some positive momentum and some good feeling. More than that, they need a good homestand to give something to their fans. The Orlando Magic have just two wins at home — nice wins at that over the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets — but they need to win on their home floor.
I mean, they are 0-7 in their City Edition jerseys. The team will wear them one more time on this homestand and a few other times this season. But geez. We want to like those jerseys.
The Magic are a team that is going to need a team to come out a bit undermanned and perhaps a bit unfocused to give themselves a little bit of a window to squeeze through. The Chicago Bulls might provide that window right now. Not that it will be easy because they are still very good.
The Bulls will be without Lonzo Ball (bone contusion in his left knee), Alex Caruso (right wrist fracture) and Zach LaVine (left knee soreness). This team still has plenty of firepower although the loss of Caruso especially might hurt their defense.
38. Prediction. 105. 24. 102
3 Keys To Watch
Wendell Carter’s impact
Wendell Carter missed seven games with a sore left hamstring and his absence was certainly felt by the Orlando Magic. The team went just 1-6 with him out. And while the team’s defense was fine without him, the team really suffered without him offensively. He is a good screener and can operate out of the high post to leverage his passing and shooting to create space for others.
The Magic are a lot better with him on the floor.
For the season, the Magic have a -5.3 net rating with Carter on the floor this year (104.0 offensive rating and 109.3 defensive rating). In Friday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Magic had a +31.2 net rating with Carter on the floor (114.9 offensive rating and 83.7 defensive rating). He was a big part of the team’s second-quarter run to take the lead to the locker room and helped stabilize things after the Magic gave up their lead in the third.
Carter has also had some big games against his former team. Carter is averaging 23.5 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game in the Magic’s two games against the Chicago Bulls this season. Carter usually has a ton of energy against them.
Life without LaVine
Injuries are a fact of life in the NBA regular season. Even beyond the league’s predilection toward load management and pacing players through the season more formally, everyone is going to deal with some major injury or temporary absence from star players at some point. How they handle them is a big deal.
The Chicago Bulls have been without Zach LaVine now for four games with a sore knee. The Bulls have lost three of those four games. They were in a little bit of a downturn before then too — losing six of their last eight now. The devastating injury to defensive dynamo Alex Caurso on Friday may not help matters.
In those four games without LaVine, the Bulls are down to a 110.1 offensive rating (17th in the league) and 111.9 defensive rating (18th in the league).
It is a bit surprising to see the team struggling more defensively without LaVine than with him. Although maybe the sample size is still a bit small. Chicago has plenty of scorers with both DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic plenty able to carry the load.
Turnover problems
Young teams — especially young teams that try to push the pace — often struggle with turnovers. It has been a problem that has come and gone for the Orlando Magic all year. And with the team’s poor offense and small margin for error, turnovers take on bigger importance for the team. Each mistake makes things a whole lot worse.
For the season, the Magic are posting a 14.9-percent turnover rate, 26th in the league. They have been OK for most of the year in giving up points off those turnovers though, ranking 20th in giving up 16.6 points off turnovers per game.
But there have been some struggles of late. In the last five games, the Magic are last in the league in turnover rate, turning it over on 16.2-percent of all possessions, and they have given up 21.4 points off turnovers per game, 29th in the league.
Next. Orlando Magic need to be like Jalen Suggs and keep getting up. dark
Orlando cannot be giving possessions away like this. There is no way for the team to succeed if they are not valuing the ball. And right now, this is a big factor in the team struggling to get over the hump and play with consistency.