Bulls v. Magic

As I continue my Bulls' comparisons to the best teams in the league we come to the Orlando Magic. Now keep in mind my comparisons are based on an 82 game regular season. What I am doing is making my early predictions for where the Bulls will finish during the REGULAR season only. This is not about who will win in the playoffs, it is about who will have a better record at the end of April.

The Magic were the second best team in the East during the regular season and the second best team during the playoffs. You could say they are the king of being the runner up. That being said, this is a true team. They are better then the sum of their parts because everyone knows their role and plays within themselves. Barring injury I have little doubt they will have a better record then the Bulls and could push for 60 wins. My guess is the Magic end up around 56-58 wins which will be quite a few more than my Bulls. However, the Bulls do have some advantages and could make this a decent race for the two seed.

Rose v. Jameer Nelson-Nelson is a solid player and fills the role that is asked of him. Scorer and penetrator. I would just like to see him get everyone involved more. Nelson looks for his shot more often then he should. His focus should be in getting Howard the ball in a position where he can succeed and setting up his shooters (VC, Lewis, Redick etc...). It's not that Nelson does anything wrong, I just think with this team he should be averaging about 13 points a night and near 10 assists instead of the lowly 5.5 he does average. Some of this is Van Gundy's fault for letting Vince Carter play and some of it is Nelson's for looking for his shot to often. I think Rose is a giant step ahead of Nelson and this season Rose will again be an all-star while Nelson will continue to be the fourth best player on a championship level team, which is a pretty good gig.

Brewer v. JJ Redick-Vince Carter is going to be the starter at the beginning of the season, but he is fucking terrible and everyone knows it. So my guess is he'll be replaced by Redick after about 20 games. Redick is a better all around player than Brewer. He is an average defender, a great shooter, a good passer, and the Bulls tried to sign him before they signed Brewer. That should tell us something. I love Brewer in this matchup though, because he is longer and more athletic. Redick won't be able to run with Brewer and it will be very tough for Redick to get any open looks with Brewer shadowing him all over the court. Still, I give an edge to the Magic in this one. If Carter is the starter all season then throw this all out the window and give the edge to the Bulls and assume Stan Van Gundy has lost his mind.

Deng v. Mickael Pietrus-This is a wash. Deng is a slightly better all around player because he is more aggressive than Pietrus, but Pietrus is always healthy, unlike Deng. Deng is better at the mid range and post up games, while Pietrus is a much better three point shooter. Both are excellent defenders and Deng is a better rebounder. Bottom line, this is a wash. Both are solid players that every team in the league could use.

Boozer v. Rashard Lewis-Lewis may have the bigger contract and the beautiful three point shot, but Boozer does a lot more of the little things. Boozer rebounds, posts up, and isn't afraid to bang down low. These are three things that Lewis rarely does anymore, not since signing that huge contract. I love Lewis' game, but he rarely showcases all of his skills. He has turned into a stand still three point shooter who watches other guys create for him. And for a power forward his rebounding skills are pretty lame as he only averages about 5 a night. That's just not going to get it done. I give a decent edge to Boozer here, assuming he stays healthy (which means playing 70-75 games).

Noah v. Dwight Howard-Many call Noah the mini Howard, so I think Howard wins this hands down. Howard is the best center in the league and the most dominant big man in basketball. His offensive game is still unrefined, but that is a very small complaint. When he gets the ball deep in the paint he is unstoppable and is arguably the best defensive center since Hakeem Olajuwon. The only thing that gets in Howard's way is his propensity to commit really stupid fouls early in the game and for some reason he doesn't always get the star treatment that guys like Kobe and LeBron get. Anyway, this is a big win for Howard and a big advantage for the Magic.

Watson, Korver, Gibson, Asik v. Duhon, Carter, Q. Richardson, Gortat-This is a very good and deep bench, throw in Ryan Anderson and this team can go 10 deep. As much as I like the Bulls bench, the Magic are better. Duhon, Carter, and Gortat are fringe starters in the league and Q is a wily veteran who was a starter last year. For the Bulls, the only potential starter is Gibson and he is definitely better suited to the bench. This is one of the Magic's biggest strengths, they almost get better when they go to the bench because very few teams can match up with the Magic's depth.

Thibs v. Stan Van Gundy-Big Edge to Van Gundy. He's coached in the Finals, he's got the team believing in his system, and personally I think he is one of the top five coaches in the game. Thibs is new, and may be great, but he is not anywhere near this level yet.

Talent wise I think these two teams are very close and I could even argue the Bulls have a better starting five, but there are going to be some growing pains for the Bulls this season as they adjust to new teammates, a new coach, and a new system. The Magic are a classic example of a TEAM! I expect the Magic to challenge for the top seed in the East and finish no lower than second. The Bulls may make it interesting for a while but at the end of the day I see the Magic landing the two seed and playing the Bulls in the second round of the playoffs, which should be EPIC!