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Ned Ryerson

FANS GAME THREAD*** Bulls vs. Magic... we get it handed to us

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quote:
Originally posted by WPMagic:

Way to stay positive fellas.

 

Well, if coach doesn't muck up the rotations after we just played Dallas tough (Dallas announcers against NJ on NBA TV were saying that "...we absorbed Orlando's best shot Saturday night in what was probably the most exciting home game of the season.") and then blew out Milwauke, if coach doesn't change things up for the millionth time, then I say we have a great chance of winning tonight.

 

I just have a sinking feeling that Grant is going to come back and our ball movement is going to come screeching to a halt again. =(

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quote:
Originally posted by WPMagic:

http://orlandomagiczone.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1011015081/m/8311027143/p/1

 

EVERYONE SIGN UP FOR THE MARCH MADNESS POOL!!!!!

 

We have 10 guys so far. I know more people know their college bball! Get it together Magic fans!

 

Yeh come on guys, it was awesome last year, we had loads of people involved!

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quote:
Yeh come on guys, it was awesome last year, we had loads of people involved!

 

I'm having a problem promoting it in the Global Game section. Perhaps the Mods can do something about this...

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Game Preview;

 

By NICOLINO DI BENEDETTO, STATS Writer

 

One night after suffering their worst loss of the season, the Chicago Bulls hope to rebound Thursday against the Orlando Magic, a team they have failed to beat in two tries in 2006-07.

 

The Bulls (35-28) got as close as three points with 5:30 left in the third quarter Wednesday at Miami before falling apart and losing 103-70 - their most lopsided defeat of the season.

 

Chicago went 0-for-10 from the floor with five turnovers in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the third quarter as the Heat halted the Bulls' three-game winning streak.

 

"We just weren't playing very smart out there," said Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich, who had 11 points but also matched his season high with six turnovers for the second straight game. "I don't know how else to explain it."

 

Ben Gordon led the Bulls with just 14 points against the Heat, one game after scoring a career-high 48 in a 126-121 overtime win at Milwaukee on Sunday.

 

This is the third of a four-game road trip for Chicago, which has alternated losses and wins in its last seven games away from home but is only 11-20 away from the United Center this season.

 

The Bulls lost 109-84 at Orlando on Nov. 1, a game which started an eight-game road losing streak.

 

They did not fare well against the Magic on Feb. 26 at home, either, losing 94-87 as Dwight Howard and Darko Milicic dominated the paint and outplayed Bulls center Ben Wallace.

 

Howard had 21 points and 16 rebounds in that contest, while Milicic also had 16 boards to go with 14 points and blocked five shots. Wallace, meanwhile, managed just three points and eight rebounds .

 

"They did a good job of playing off each other," Wallace said after the Feb. 26 meeting. "That's what this league is all about. You go to one guy and somebody else steps up."

 

The Bulls will need a better performance from Wallace in handling the talented Howard, who is averaging 23.3 points and 13.7 rebounds in his last three games versus Chicago.

 

The Magic (29-33) are looking to win consecutive games for the first time in more than a month after beating the Bucks 99-81 at home on Monday. They haven't won back-to-back games since beating Milwaukee and New Jersey at home Jan. 31 and Feb. 2, posting a 4-11 record since.

 

Turkoglu led Orlando with 25 points, made 10 of 14 shooting field-goal attempts and added a season-high nine rebounds in Monday's win, which halted a three-game slide.

 

The swingman has developed a hot hand in the last three games, shooting 69.4 percent (25-for-36) from the field and averaging 22.0 points.

 

"I knew my shot was eventually going to come around," Turkoglu said. "It's just a matter of confidence and getting the shot to fall. I might have relied too much on the jump shot, but I've been mixing up the drives with jumpers, and now it seems to be clicking."

 

 

Team Comparison

Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10

 

Chicago 35-28 3rd Central / 5th East 99.0 95.0 Road 11-20 Lost 1 6-4

 

Orlando 29-33 3rd Southeast / 8th East 94.0 94.0 Home 19-12 Won 1 3-7

 

Chicago Notes

 

Mar 8 Chicago scored a season-low 70 points against Miami. ... Starting Gs Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon had combined for 40, 46 and 60 points in the first three games against Miami this year but were held to a combined 25 on 11-of-29 shooting Wednesday night. ... You don't expect honesty in letters from general managers to season-ticket holders, but the one Bulls GM John Paxson sent out this week was far from puffery, instead it was blunt. Paxson addressed many topics including how the "lack of a consistent low-post scorer (puts) a tremendous burden on our outside shooters" and would be dealt with via a trade, free agency or the draft. He also expressed unhappiness with his team's penchant for blowing close games and big leads. Paxson also had praise for Gordon and F Luol Deng and said the atmosphere of acquiring hardworking players is a standard from which he would not deviate.

 

st 03-08-07 0:39 et

 

Orlando Notes

 

Orlando held the Bucks to just 10 first-quarter points, which is a season low for points allowed in a quarter by an opponent. ... The Magic enjoyed a 25-point win on January 31 and held the Bucks to just 73 points in that game. ... The win marks the 19th time this year the Magic have held their opposition to 40 percent or less shooting from the field. They are 15-4 in those contests. ... Orlando shot 50 percent from the field on 39-of-78 shooting, marking the 14th time this season shooting 50 percent or better. They are 14-7 in those matchups. ... Magic G Grant Hill missed his third straight game with a sore left foot. He has now missed 374 games since coming over from Detroit in 2000.

 

st 03-06-07 1:23 et

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2007030819

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Scouting Report - Tim Povtak...Orlando Sentinel

 

WHERE: Amway Arena

 

RECORDS: Bulls 35-28, Magic 29-33

 

BROADCAST: TV -- TNT; Radio -- 580 AM (WDBO); Spanish-language radio -- 1030 AM (WONQ).

 

MAGIC UPDATE: Grant Hill is back after missing the past three games, leaving Tony Battie as the only key player still on the sideline. Battie (broken right thumb) has started practicing, but he has skipped most of the five-on-five scrimmages. The Magic want his thumb to heal for a few more days before he plays in a game. The Magic already have beaten the Bulls twice this season, including a drubbing on opening night in Orlando.

 

BULLS UPDATE: They played Wednesday night in Miami, and for the second time this season, they are playing in Orlando the night after playing in South Florida. Unlike the Magic, the Bulls use a perimeter-dominated offense, relying heavily on guards Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich. Gordon had 48 points earlier this week against Milwaukee. The Bulls are good defensively. After leading the NBA in defensive field-goal percentage the past two years, they are second this season, allowing opponents to shoot 43.3 percent from the field.

 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Gordon will present a big problem defensively for Grant Hill, which is why the Magic may keep Keith Bogans in the starting lineup and use Hill in reserve. Also, Darko Milicic had one of his best games against the Bulls last week with 14 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots. P.J. Brown may get more playing time in an effort to slow him.

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/basketball/magic/...story?coll=orl-magic

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Grant Hill returns - Might not start

 

Grant Hill returned to practice with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, pronounced himself fit and sounded excited about being part of his first, late-season playoff chase in seven years.

 

Hill missed the past three games with soreness in his left foot (caused by arthritis and a small cyst), but the inflammation has subsided, and he expects to play the final 20 regular-season games, believing they will lead into the Magic's first playoff appearance since 2003.

 

 

 

"Today, I felt as lively, and was bouncing around, as well as I have [all season]," Hill said after practice Wednesday. "This wasn't anything major. I feel good. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm anxious and excited about getting back out there and helping this team reach the playoffs."

 

Hill has missed 374 games during the past seven seasons with the Magic, slowed by ankle, shin, abdomen and knee problems. The fractured left ankle required five surgeries to fix.

 

He has played 45 games this season, the second-most in his Magic career. He played 67 games during the 2004-05 season, but he missed the final 10 games with a sore left shin, watching from the sideline as the Magic's playoff hopes faded that year.

 

He hasn't finished a regular season since 1999-2000 when he led the Detroit Pistons into the playoffs by averaging a career-best 25.8 points. He struggled, though, in that first-round playoff matchup against the Miami Heat, hobbling through the start of the left-ankle woes that the Magic inherited when they signed him as a free agent that summer.

 

"We want to finish this right," Hill said. "I don't think this is a situation where I'm in and out. We've got fewer games now, the practices aren't as strenuous, and we're focused on being part of the postseason."

 

The Magic (29-33) tonight play the Chicago Bulls (35-28), whom they have beaten twice this season. The Bulls lost 103-70 to the Heat in Miami on Wednesday night.

 

The Magic currently are in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, just behind the Heat and the Indiana Pacers, and just ahead of the New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks.

 

"Our goal isn't just to creep in with the eight spot," said Magic Coach Brian Hill after practice. "We still have a quarter of the season left. Our goal is to win each and every game, and if we do that, we'll be better than eighth."

 

Brian Hill confirmed that Grant Hill would play tonight against the Bulls, but he said he was unsure whether the shooting guard would be in the starting lineup, even though he has started in every game he has played.

 

The Magic might be better off keeping defensive-minded Keith Bogans in the starting lineup to better slow Bulls leading scorer Ben Gordon, who had 48 points earlier this week against the Milwaukee Bucks, and use Hill in reserve.

 

When the Magic beat the Bulls last week in Chicago, Hill had 15 points, but Bogans didn't play.

 

The Magic won by dominating around the basket, getting 16 rebounds from both Dwight Howard and Darko Milicic. The entire Bulls teams managed just 31 rebounds.

 

Although the Bulls are expected to start center Ben Wallace and power forward P.J. Brown -- a good defensive frontcourt -- they often switch to a smaller, quicker lineup, looking for mismatches and forcing other teams to adapt. In Chicago, though, the Magic mostly stayed with Howard and Milicic, and they used the mismatches to their own advantage.

 

"We can't let other teams impose their will on us," Howard said. "We have to be the ones to impose our will on them. When we go big, they have to play us, and we should win those games. When we play big, that's how we're going to win games."

 

Also in that Chicago game, Howard managed his first career triple-double, recording 21 points and a franchise-record 11 turnovers. The Magic won despite a whopping 26 turnovers.

 

The Magic still are without veteran center/power forward Tony Battie, who will miss his 14th consecutive game with a fractured right thumb. He might be available for Sunday's game in Houston.

 

"Every game now is a very, very important game for us," Brian Hill said. "We were fortunate to get a road win there last week.

 

"We'll have to play just as hard, as well, maybe better to get another win against them."

 

TONIGHT'S GAME'This wasn't any-thing major. I feel good. . . . I'm anxious and excited about getting back out there and helping this team reach the playoffs.'

 

Grant Hill,

 

who expects to play the final 20 regular-season games

 

Tim Povtak can be reached at tpovtak@orlandosentinel.com.

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/basketball/magic/...story?coll=orl-magic

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