The Bulls (6-9) return home tonight to meet the Orlando Magic (4-11) for the first time. Chicago captured the season series a year ago by winning three of four. This time around, the Bulls and Magic will meet only three times, twice in Chicago.
Both teams hit the hardwood this evening looking to snap losing streaks. Orlando has dropped two in-a-row while Chicago is mired in a three-game slide, and in fact, has dropped five of its last six. A nagging problem this season for the Bulls has been getting off to slow starts and having to expend extra energy early on just to catch up and stay competitive. It’s true the Bulls’ schedule has been fairly brutal up to this point, but Chicago can’t continue stumbling out of the gates most nights if they’re going to make their way to the postseason for a second consecutive season.
As a collective unit, the Bulls must adjust their approach and overall mentality by not getting easily discouraged or frustrated if the breaks don’t come their way off the bat. By rule, an NBA game is 48 minutes long. Good teams spit fire for all 48, and simply put, Chicago hasn’t done so all that often. However, tonight would be a perfect opportunity for the Bulls to turn the page and head down a different road.
And speaking of tonight, here are a couple of things to keep an eye on as the Bulls attempt to get back on track (7:00 pm CST tipoff – NBC Sports Chicago):
FAST AND FURIOUS
The Bulls have proven they can be tough to beat when everyone is involved in the action at both ends of the floor. To come away with a win tonight Chicago must get strong contributions from up and down its lineup. The starting five needs to establish a fast pace right from the jump, knocking Orlando onto its heels right away. Offensively, the ball must continually move with crisp, decisive passes, and not end up stuck in any one player’s hands for too long. It has to touch everyone’s hands, making sure everyone plays their part. Then, whenever an opportunity presents, the Bulls have to look to attack the basket, aggressively driving into the paint and taking the action directly to the rim. However, a very important key for the Bulls while swinging the ball from player-to-player will be limiting turnovers, denying the Magic chances to pick-off sloppy passes and streak the other way for easy buckets.
So far, the Bulls’ bench has delivered more often than not, ranking top-10 in the league in a number of categories, including +/- (4th, +2.8), steals (4th, 3.3), blocks (4th, 2.6), and 3FG% (5th, .382). Chicago’s aggressive attitude and high-speed pace cannot slow down whenever the second unit filters into the lineup. If anything, the Bulls’ edge needs to kick up a notch, sending Orlando a clear message that they’re going to be for a long night if they don’t keep up.
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
Orlando’s average age of 23.9 is the fourth-youngest in the NBA. The roster consists of 10 players with three-or-less years of NBA experience and 10 at or under the age of 24. Yes, youth is being served in the Magic Kingdom.
Although the NBA celebrates youth, its teams like to punish young squads, and the Magic have been no exception so far this season, as they come to town with a 4-11 record overall and are 0-6 on the road. The team’s best player, 19-year-old rookie Paolo Banchero has been spectacular, averaging 23.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists over 34.7 minutes. But as of this writing, the rookie out of Duke is unlikely to play for a fifth straight game because of a nasty ankle injury from earlier this month. The 6’10 forward has scored in double-figures in each of the 11 games he’s played.
One player who has also missed some time of late but is expected to play is former Bulls center, Wendell Carter Jr., who comes in averaging 16.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting .510 from the floor and .821 from the free-throw line. The Bulls selected Carter Jr. with the 7th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft but traded him to the Magic in 2021 as part of the deal that brought Nikola Vučević to Chicago. Carter Jr. seems to play with a major chip on his shoulder every time he faces Chicago. In five games against his original team, he averages 21.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists, while shooting .589 overall – by far his best numbers against any other opponent. Bulls fans should expect more of the same from him this evening.
Another Magic player to keep close tabs on is second-year forward Franz Wagner. The 6’10 former Michigan Wolverine was selected with the No. 4 overall pick in last year’s Draft, a pick that happened to have been courtesy of the Bulls who dealt it (not knowing it would be so high) to Orlando along with Carter Jr. for Vučević. Wagner has been terrific since putting on a Magic uniform. This season he’s averaging 18.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 34.2 minutes. He’s very active at both ends of the floor, often igniting Orlando’s fastbreak game.