A pair of struggling Eastern Conference team play in Mexico City on Thursday night as the Chicago Bulls take on the Orlando Magic at the Arena de Ciudad de Mexico.
The Bulls lost to the Sacramento Kings in Chicago, on Monday while the Magic suffered a drubbing at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas. Chicago has lost back to back games while the Magic are losers of three in a row.
The Orlando Magic suffered a thrashing at the hands of the surging Dallas Mavericks last Monday. Orlando lost by a final score of 76-101 with 76 as their lowest point total of the season. The Magic didn’t display any aggressiveness against the Mavs as they set a franchise low with only five free throw attempts in the entire game. If Orlando wants to snap out of their three game losing streak, they must play with purpose even if it’s against the lowly Bulls.
Rookie center Mo Bamba missed the game against the Mavs because he violated team rules. No details were given except that head coach Steve Clifford said that it was just a one game suspension. Bamba is expected to play against the Bulls and his presence will help spell Orlando big man Nikola Vucevic who is leading the team 20.6 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Orlando’s 104.6 points per game ranks 26th in the NBA in team scoring. Their 42.3 rebounds per game is 25th among 30 NBA teams.
There was some trouble in Chicago last week. Early in the week, the Bulls fired head coach Fred Hoiberg. Last Saturday, the Bulls lost to the Boston Celtics by a franchise worst 56 points. After that, there was a report of a ‘“mini-revolt” by the players against new head coach Jim Boylen. Both sides denied the report but where there’s smoke there must be fire and it’s only worsening the Bulls’ 6-22 season.
Chicago has struggled with injuries to key players this season. They rank dead last in scoring at 101.6 points per game and are 26th in scoring defense at 112.9 points per game allowed. The Bulls are also 25th in assists at 22.0 dimes per contest and are 26th in rebounds at 41.6 boards per outing. They have lost nine of their last 10 games and heading to this game, Chicago has lost two in a row.
The Bulls and Magic have faced each other a total of 106 times during the NBA regular season. Chicago leads their all-time head to head series 58-48 with Chicago winning seven out of their last eight meetings overall including the last two. The Bulls have also won the last five meetings in Orlando.
Chicago is 1-9 SU in their last 10 games played and the Bulls are 2-11 SU on the road this season. Orlando is is 3-10 SU in their last 10 games played and the Magic are 6-8 SU in 14 home games played this season. Head to head, the Bulls are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games versus the Magic.
Both teams are struggling badly right now and both teams are in dire need of a victory. But when you compare these teams, the Bulls are where they are right now because of injuries to key rotations players. On the other hand, the Magic are expected to be at full strength for this one with Bamba and Evan Fournier returning to action.
When you have a pair of struggling teams who both have equally bad form right now, you’d go with the team that has a stronger lineup and the one that is playing at home. I give the advantage to the Magic because the Bulls have won just twice on the road this season and they are playing with several key players hurt. We’re picking the Orlando Magic to beat the Chicago Bulls on 12/13/18.
The Bulls are 13-15 ATS on the season. Chicago is 5-8 ATS in 13 road games played so far this season. The Magic are 15-12 ATS and are 6-8 ATS in 14 home games played this season. Head to head, the Bulls are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 meetings with the Magic.
The Bulls are 4-1 ATS in their last five games after allowing at least 100 points in their previous game. Chicago is also 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against teams with a losing SU record. Orlando is 10-2 ATS in their last dozen games after allowing at least 100 points in their previous game.
Orlando doesn’t have a winning record but they have played well against teams who don’t have winning records. .The Magic are also 5-1 ATS in their last six games against teams with a losing SU record and 4-1 ATS in their last five games against teams with a winning percentage of below .400. Prediction: Magic -5
The total has gone under in 19 out of the 28 games played by the Bulls this season. The under is also 8-5 in Chicago’s 13 road games played so far. The total has gone under in 17 out of the 27 games played by the Orlando Magic. The under is 9-5 in Orlando’s 14 home games this season. Head to head, the under is 10-0 in their last 10 games played against each other.
These are two of the lowest scoring teams in the league with Orlando at #26 and the Bulls at the bottom of the leaderboard. The Magic also play good defense, allowing the 8th fewest points in the business. Scoring won’t be at a premium in a game of two struggling teams. Prediction: Under 209.5
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