Bulls at Magic
THE STORY: The Chicago Bulls, who clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference with Friday night's win over Cleveland, visit the Orlando Magic in what could be a preview of a second-round playoff matchup. The absence of Dwight Howard takes some of the luster off the game. The Magic's star forward is suspended for picking up his 18th technical foul of the regular season. This marks the second time Howard has been hit with a one-game suspension after receiving his 16th technical foul of the season.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE MAGIC (50-29): Orlando has won two straight and three of four. The Magic are locked into the fourth seed in the East. Howard, who averages 23.1 points and 14.1 rebounds, won't be allowed in the building. His latest technical came Wednesday against Charlotte when an official whistled him for taking more than the allotted 10 seconds to shoot a free throw. It was the second time in two nights Howard had been whistled for the violation, which resulted in the loss of the foul shot. He responded by rolling the ball out of bounds and got hit with the technical. With no inside game, the Magic will be relying on their 3-point shooters. Guard Quentin Richardson will also miss the game because of a suspension.
ABOUT THE BULLS (59-20): The league's hottest team resides in Chicago. The Bulls have won six straight and 18 of 20. Chicago has overtaken Orlando, Miami and Boston to sit atop the East. The Bulls will have homecourt advantage in the first three rounds of the playoffs. Chicago's players were pleased with the accomplishment, but said they have far bigger goals in mind. The Bulls trail San Antonio by 1 1/2 games for the best record in the league. Judging by what coach Tom Thibodeau said after Friday night's game, it doesn't sound like he plans on resting his regulars in the final week. Thibodeau wants to keep his team sharp going into the playoffs. Point guard Derrick Rose scored only 11 points Friday, but the Bulls had six players in double figures.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Chicago's Carlos Boozer is averaging 17.9 points and 10.5 rebounds in his last eight games. Gilbert Arenas scored 25 points against Charlotte after totaling 26 points in his previous five games. Arenas' total was his highest since he scored 30 points against the Bulls on Nov. 13 when he was playing for Washington.
KEY STATISTIC: The Bulls have won six straight on the road by an average of 12.3 points. Chicago has also won nine 10 of away from home.
SEASON SERIES: Chicago has won two of three from Orlando. The Bulls will be happy to not face Howard, who is averaging 24.3 points and 12.3 rebounds against them. Rose has averaged 20.3 points against the Magic. Boozer scored 16 points and had 16 rebounds in a 99-90 win on Jan. 28.
KEY INJURIES: CHICAGO: None. ORLANDO: F Dwight Howard (suspension); G Quentin Richardson (suspension); G Jason Richardson (knee); G J.J. Redick (abdominal).
LAST WORD: The Bulls will finish on top of the East for the first since 1997-98, which just happens to be the last time the franchise won the NBA title. That season was the last of the six championships the Bulls won with Michael Jordan.