NBA Basketball Betting – Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic
The Chicago Bulls (2-1 SU & ATS) are trying to get off to a fast start with rookie point guard Derrick Rose leading the way. On Monday night they will take to the court against the Orlando Magic (1-2 SU &A TS) in an NBA encounter that is set to get underway at 7 PM ET at the Amway Arena in Orlando, FL.
BetUS NBA Basketball Odds: ORLANDO -7, Total 196
Here are some of the NBA pro basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* CHI has won and covered four of its last five games
* CHI has played eight of its last ten games UNDER the total
* CHI has lost nine of its last 11 road games SU
* ORL has lost four of its last five games SU
* ORL has played four of its last five games UNDER the total
* ORL has covered 16 of its last 24 home games
* ORL has won six of its last eight home games SU
Also….
* ORL has won six of the last seven meetings SU
* ORL has covered five of the last seven meetings
* Five of the last six meetings have gone UNDER the total
* CHI has won and covered six of the last nine meetings as the road team
* ORL has won 12 of the last 18 meetings SU as the home team
* Seven of the last ten meetings in Orlando have gone OVER the total
So how is Derrick Rose doing? Well, I’m glad you asked. The rookie from Memphis has probably scored more than expected in his first three games as a pro, averaging 18.3 points per game (including 26 against the Grizzlies last time out). He hasn’t made a three-pointer yet, and that is not really part of his game yet. Some say he’ll have to develop a better outside shot to be a well-rounded point guard. Rose has contributed on the boards, with 13 rebounds thus far, but his assist-to-turnover ratio has been somewhat disappointing, as he has dished out 4.3 assists and turned it over three times a game.
The Bulls are shooting just 39% from the floor, and Rose has to help get his teammates better shot selection. Tyrus Thomas has been especially disappointing, missing 20 of his last 22 shots. Thomas is one of the people Chicago is counting on for inside scoring, but he hasn’t filled that vacuum. Drew Gooden got twenty rebounds for the team to help lead that comeback win against Memphis, but you know that he is not going to do that kind of work on the boards against Dwight Howard, who had 14 rebounds and five blocked shots against Sacramento on Saturday.
The Magic, which is by nature a finesse team with outside shooters Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis at the forward spots, looks like it could be getting its legs offensively, with a 55% shooting effort against the Kings. That was a big improvement over horrible games against Atlanta and Memphis to start things off. We are still a little skeptical about the Bulls as Vinny Del Negro gets his own feet wet as an NBA head coach. And if they are using Rose as a scorer and not a playmaker they are playing some other than their optimum game. We’ll lay the points with the Magic, the seven-point favorite in the BetUS NBA basketball sports betting odds.
