Magic at Bulls
The Chicago Bulls missed out on a 3-0 start with an overtime loss at Detroit on Friday, which is one period less than the Orlando Magic were forced to play. Both teams had a chance to recover on Saturday and should be well rested when the Magic visit the Bulls on Sunday.
Orlando slogged through an 88-87 loss to the Washington Wizards to begin the campaign but broke out the offense as Victor Oladipo recorded a triple-double in a 139-136 double-overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. Oladipo knocked in 3-pointers at the end of regulation and the first overtime to extend the game and was one of six Magic players to finish with at least 14 points. Chicago was forced to play three games in the first four days of the regular season and had the energy run out in overtime of a 98-94 loss to the Pistons. Derrick Rose struggled to eight points on 4-of-13 shooting in the loss and is still experiencing blurred vision due to an orbital fracture.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Orlando), WGN (Chicago)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (0-2): Orlando, like Chicago, is learning to operate under a new head coach, and Scott Skiles is not happy with how his young team is executing down the stretch. “It’s the second game in a row where when it gets tight we’re not trusting that (system) and not fully trusting each other,” Skiles told reporters. The veteran coach, who once served as head coach of the Bulls, was also upset that the team began celebrating early in regulation and allowed a tying 3-pointer.
ABOUT THE BULLS (2-1): Chicago center Joakim Noah is coming off the bench to begin Fred Hoiberg’s tenure as head coach and finally managed his first points of the season when he went 1-of-1 from the field in 17 minutes on Friday. The reasoning behind the switch was to keep Noah with forward Taj Gibson in the second unit, but Gibson is struggling as well with an average of 5.3 points on 42.9 percent shooting. Those two coming off the bench opened a starting spot for Nikola Mirotic, who is averaging 19.7 points in the first three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Bulls have taken four of the last six in the series.
2. Rose committed five turnovers on Friday after totaling four in the first two games.
3. Orlando F Aaron Gordon is 8-of-12 from the field in the first two games.