{"id":14795,"date":"2011-04-09T18:23:32","date_gmt":"2011-04-09T23:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/?p=14795"},"modified":"2011-04-10T02:23:19","modified_gmt":"2011-04-10T07:23:19","slug":"eastern-conference-picks-bulls-charge-into-orlando-with-6-game-winning-streak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/eastern-conference-picks-bulls-charge-into-orlando-with-6-game-winning-streak-14795\/","title":{"rendered":"Eastern Conference Picks: Bulls charge into Orlando with 6-game winning streak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic, Amway Center, Orlando, FL<\/strong>
\nSunday, April 10, 2011, 1:00 pm Eastern, TV:\u00a0 ABC<\/strong>
\nOpening Line: Bulls -3<\/strong>
\nCurrent Line: Bulls -4.5<\/strong>
\nOpening Total: 185<\/strong>
\nCurrent Total: 183<\/strong>
\nMoney Line: Click here for latest NBA lines<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Magic
Dwight Howard will not be on the court Sunday due to a one-game suspension after picking up his 18th technical foul.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Chicago Bulls (59-20) clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 93-82 victory at Cleveland on Friday and will go for their seventh win and third cover in a row when they visit the Orlando Magic (50-29) on Sunday.\u00a0 The Bulls (-4.5) are still trying to catch San Antonio for the best record in the NBA though, and the fourth-seeded Magic could face them in the second round of the playoffs if both teams advance.<\/p>\n

Orlando certainly had Chicago\u2019s number before 2011 began, winning three consecutive meetings straight-up and against the spread by an average margin of 26 points per game.\u00a0 The Magic had used All-Star center Dwight Howard in the past to intimidate MVP candidate Derrick Rose, preventing him from doing what he does best by penetrating the lane.<\/p>\n

However, Rose finally figured out how to turn the tables on Howard in the last two meetings, leading the Bulls to a pair of wins by a combined 17 points.\u00a0 One could argue that reversal of fortunes is the primary reason Rose will likely win the MVP award over Howard.\u00a0 Chicago\u2019s third-year point guard has not been ruffled by the same opponent more than once this season and does whatever it takes to win, whether it involves his scoring or passing abilities.<\/p>\n

The Bulls overcame Howard\u2019s 40 points and 15 rebounds in a 99-90 home win over Orlando on January 28, as Rose scored 22 points and dished out a game-high 12 assists.\u00a0 In the next game between the teams on March 4, Rose had 24 points and four assists in leading his team to a 89-81 road victory while Howard totaled 20 points and 10 boards but picked up his league-high 16th technical foul and was suspended the next game.<\/p>\n

Ironically, Howard was called for his 18th technical on Wednesday in a 111-102 overtime win at Charlotte on Wednesday and will sit out this game against Chicago.\u00a0 Reserve swingman Quentin Richardson (4.3 points per game) will also miss this matchup due to a two-game suspension for shoving Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson in the face.<\/p>\n

The Magic are set to face Atlanta in the first round of the postseason after winning eight of their last 11 games, although they have not fared well against the spread during that stretch.\u00a0 They are just 2-9 vs. the line over that span \u2013 all as favorites \u2013 and will be home underdogs for the first time since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers (-5.5) back on March 14, 97-84.<\/p>\n

Now that you have read this NBA betting preview featuring the Magic & Bulls, check out the NBA odds on this and all the games to compare the best lines at multiple sportsbooks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic, Amway Center, Orlando, FL Sunday, April 10, 2011, 1:00 pm Eastern, TV:\u00a0 ABC Opening Line: Bulls -3 Current Line: Bulls -4.5 Opening Total: 185 Current Total: 183 Money Line: Click here for latest NBA lines The Chicago Bulls (59-20) clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 93-82 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194,"featured_media":5467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1444,133],"tags":[3115,174,4438,4835,4439,1985,659,4440],"class_list":["post-14795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","category-nba-handicapping","tag-abc","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-free-pro-basketball-pick","tag-magic-bulls-preview","tag-nba-basketball-odds","tag-nba-picks","tag-orlando-magic","tag-pro-basketball-betting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/194"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14795"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14800,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14795\/revisions\/14800"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madduxsports.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}