5 Questions: Bulls vs. Magic

I had a chance to sit down with Orlando Magic blogger and ESPN Radio 1420’s Andrew Melnick to discuss tonight’s big time showdown between the Chicago Bulls and the Orlando Magic.

Right now it seems no one really cares how the Magic actually perform, all the attention is squarely on Dwight Howard. The trade talks have died down for now, how much of that has to do with the Magic winning and how much has to do with Dight Howard damage control?

The trade talks have died down because no one will talk about it. You can’t get a word out of Howard – he keeps telling the media he “won’t talk about trade stuff” and General Manager Otis Smith has been quiet as well. Howard’s agent, Dan Fegan, hasn’t made a fuss either. Orlando’s plan is still to do whatever it takes to change Howard’s mind and convince him to stay, which is unlikely, but probably not impossible.

What’s funny is you’re right, the Magic have been winning. Since losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder on opening night, they’ve won five of their last six games with their only loss coming to Detroit on the second night of a back-to-back when the Magic looked tired and flat (Bulls fans can probably relate after losing to Golden State on the second night of the season).

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What are the chances Howard gets traded? Has the hubbub surrounding him passed now that all the Chris Paul stuff is settled? Or will we see it naturally resurface at the deadline and if it resurfaces how much traction will it have?

I still think it’s much more likely Howard gets traded than not. I don’t think the Chris Paul situation had much to do with it from that perspective. If anything, it may have hurt the Magic because Paul is a player they have coveted for years and someone who would have

liked to play for Orlando, but the Magic never had the assets to get it down.

Like I said above, the hubbub hasn’t really stopped, it’s just quieted down for now. It will almost certainly resurface as the season goes on or perhaps even earlier if the Magic begin to fade. Magic brass feels they can’t just let Howard walk away without get anything in return like they did with Shaq.

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Back to the team as a whole, Orlando sits at 5-2 looking up by a game at the Heat. How confident are you this team can catch the Heat and over take them for first place?

I still think the Magic have an excellent team – I even have them third in the east behind the Bulls and Miami Heat, but I have no confidence they will catch the Heat unless they really get hit by the injury bug. The Heat can afford for any one or possibly even two of their big three to have an off night and still pick up wins. If Howard has an off night, it’s not that simple for Orlando – they need a huge collective effort from their team.

I do think the Magic still present some problems for the Heat with Jameer Nelson at the point and of course with Howard in the middle against that thin Miami line in a series, but I don’t think they can match Miami’s record.

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Getting to tonight’s matchup, the Bulls are 6-1 but they always seem to have a tough go at it against the Magic. What on the Bulls besides Derrick Rose, if anything, makes you uneasy about playing Chicago?

Chicago’s defense and ability to rebound the ball are what made them so good last season, so if you’re taking Rose out of the questions, that’s what has to worry you. Ryan Anderson, who’s been fantastic this season, can really rebound the ball, but he hasn’t been consistent, meaning at times, Howard is all you have down low to rebound the ball. The Bulls have several good rebounders and great depth up front.

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Do the Magic make it two in a row and beat the Bulls?

The biggest worry has to be about finding ways to score. With the Bulls’ size and a defender like Luol Deng on the perimeter, it’s difficult to get to the rim. The Bulls have also done a pretty good job on Orlando’s shooters as of late because they’re such a smart, hard-working defensive team.

Despite my feeling that Chicago is the better team, I actually do think the Magic make it two it in a row Friday. Derrick Rose is a little banged up with his elbow bruise so I’m not sure he’ll be quite as effective as normal. Couple that with the fact that Orlando hasn’t had to travel since Monday so they’ll be well rested and I think they can pull it out

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