Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic Fri. March 4, 2011 7 p.m. EST

The Chicago Bulls came into this NBA regular season with high hopes of turning around their storied franchise after adding former All-Star forward Carlos Boozer into the mix. With Boozers and Joakim Noah in the paint and Derrick Rose in the backcourt, this Bulls team was thought to be good, but not great, at least not for awhile.

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Fortunately for Chicago, the Bulls have exceeded expectations up to this point in the NBA regular season and have legitimate shot of overtaking the Miami Heat for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Along with the team being completely rejuvenated and a potential NBA title contender, All-Star point guard Derrick Rose has quickly become the frontrunner for NBA M

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With D-Rose leading the way, this team has great potential to do big things this season, but in the meantime they will be concentrating on getting past the Orlando Magic and another NBA MVP candidate in center Dwight Howard.

Although many people have already written off the Orlando Magic as they seem to have gotten worse rather than better after the blockbuster trade around mid-season, D-Howard and company are coming off an impressive win over the Miami Heat on Thursday night. Not only were they able to pull off the slight upset over LeBron James and company, but they were able to overcome a 24-point deficit in order to get the win at home in Orlando.

This was impressive to say the least as it was 2^nd-largest comeback in franchise history. This win may have been just what the Orlando Magic needed to get back on track and become a force to be reckoned with once again in the Eastern Conference.

At this point in time, I believe no one in the East will catch up to the Boston Celtics for the number one seed, but the Magic do have a chance to continue to make waves in the conference with a win over Derrick Rose and company on Friday night. If they can continue to stay hot and get wins over the high seeds in the East, the Magic will be able to gain ground.

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Despite this being a home game for the Orlando Magic, the Chicago Bulls are the better all around team coming into this matchup in my opinion. Derrick Rose will be serious matchup problem for the Magic in the backcourt and Dwight Howard might have some trouble against Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah in the paint.

This should be a hard fought battle from start to finish, but in the end I see the Chicago Bulls getting another win and making a final push for the second seed in the Eastern Conference ahead of the Miami Heat.

As of right now, the Orlando Magic are the favorites with a -2.5 point spread. The Chicago Bulls should get the win, so taking the Bulls at +2.5 is the best bet in my opinion.