Rising Star
Derrick Rose has been steadily adjusting to the NBA, and the Chicago Bulls expect the No. 1 overall pick in the draft to continue developing into a star.
Rose will try to help the Bulls avoid a fifth straight loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday when the teams meet at Amway Arena.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Magic –7 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 195 (View Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 65% of bets for this game have been placed on Magic –7 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
Rose is coming off his best game with Chicago (2-1), scoring a career-best 26 points in a 96-86 win over Memphis on Saturday. The point guard, who was 11-of-20 from the field and added six rebounds and three assists, leads rookies with 18.3 points per game.
"All I’m trying to do is win the game," Rose said. "If that takes me to score 20 some points or five points it doesn’t matter as long as we win."
Coach Vinny Del Negro said he’s looking for more from Rose, who led Memphis to the NCAA championship game last season, as he tries to get the Bulls to be more aggressive offensively.
"He’s so athletic and he can get to the basket and finish," Del Negro said. "I told him when he comes off the pick and roll and they let off him to let it fly. He had more control of the game tonight and I think it will continue to get better. He competes."
The Bulls didn’t do that against the Magic last season, dropping all four matchups and getting outscored by an average of 22.0 points in the final three games.
To avoid a fifth straight loss, Chicago needs to improve its shooting. The Bulls shot a league-low 43.5 percent from the field last season, and after hitting 50.7 percent in a victory over Milwaukee in their season opener, shot 29.8 percent in a 16-point loss at Boston on Friday and 38.1 percent against the Grizzlies on Saturday.
"Right now the ball is not going in," Del Negro said. "As long as they are rhythm shots, I don’t have problems with them. … We have to do a better job of moving the ball and getting shots in transition."
Orlando (1-2) also struggled offensively in its first two games, scoring 85 and 84 points in a pair of losses. The Magic, though, are coming off a 121-103 win over Sacramento on Saturday in which they shot a season-high 55.0 percent.
"This was good for our confidence," said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, whose team averaged an Eastern Conference-best 104.5 points last season. "People don’t realize how fragile confidence can be. They think when you hit the major league level, confidence is a given because you have so much success, but a couple of bad nights and all the sudden you’re pressing. We’re still a long way from where we want to be, but I like what I saw tonight."
All five Orlando starters scored in double figures, led by Dwight Howard, who had a season-high 29 points and 14 rebounds for his third double-double. Rashard Lewis scored 26 points, Hedo Turkoglu had 21 and Mickael Pietrus added 20.
Howard was 11-of-14 from the field and is shooting 63.2 percent on the season. He averaged 20.3 points and 13.0 rebounds against the Bulls last season.
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