Chicago Bulls 2010 Preseason: Is Loss to Orlando Magic Something To Worry about?

The Chicago Bulls’ 38-point loss to the Orlando Magic got me laughing nervously.

It was only a preseason game, right?

And from the promises of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, Saturday’s performance will never happen again.

Well that’s very reassuring…or do I hear another nervous laugh?

Orlando is one of the Eastern Conference’s powerhouses along with the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. With a newly restructured roster and depth, Chicago can play the sleeper team.

Saturday’s game was a chance for the Bulls to rise to the occasion and challenge an established conference contender. But they failed—miserably.

Of course, there are many factors to consider about this particular game.

After losing in overtime against the Dallas Mavericks the night before, the Bulls didn’t arrive to their Orlando hotel until 3:15 a.m. That’s enough to drain any team physically, and the Bulls definitely showed they were battling fatigue and exhaustion on the court.

Their offense only managed 10 points in the first quarter and 23 points in the second, and the Magic pummeled the Bulls defense with at most a 47-point lead.

47. Ouch.

Could you imagine the Heat or Lakers shrugging off a preseason deficit like that en route to an NBA championship title?

Who knows? 

Also consider that the Bulls aren’t at full strength with Taj Gibson, Carlos Boozer and Ronnie Brewer nursing their bodies. That gave the Bulls bench a chance to play bigger roles.

C.J. Watson and James Johnson were the only ones in double figures for the Bulls, with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

But don’t let those numbers make you believe that the Bulls have some "umph" in guard rotation.

Watson should be praised for going 5-for-7, but Johnson was only 3-for-12 on the floor, which shows that he’s still struggling with inconsistency.

Who else on the bench showed up to help Rose score in the first half? And what more does this minimal bench production say about starters like Rose and Noah to pick up the slack?

Obviously Rose can’t carry the team offensively by himself. Noah only scored one point in 18 minutes of action.

Jo wasn’t receiving much help on the defensive end from Omer Asik and Kurt Thomas in guarding Dwight Howard.

On the bright side, it was a learning experience for Asik to get an early pounding from the likes of Howard. Now, the rookie knows what to expect and prepare for down the road.

Tom Thibodeau was content with resting his starters once a blowout was clear anyway, so that widened the deficit even more to make the loss look deceivingly embarrassing.

Excuses, excuses.

Still, even in failing the test, the Bulls saw how they measured up against a top-notch team.

Mistakes like those are better made earlier in the season than later, and these tough back-to-back games perfectly simulate what lies ahead for the Bulls.

When the Bulls meet the Magic again, Orlando's performance will be no different.

The Magic approached the game like any other regular season game, and people saw plenty of action from Howard, Vince Carter and J.J. Reddick.

“It's not, ‘All right, this is for real, let's go ahead and play for real.’ No. That's our approach each and every game,” Vince Carter said in an Associated Press report.

Dwight Howard added: “We're going to go out every night, and the only thing we can promise and that everybody should expect is we're going to go out and play hard every night.”

It’s not clear how the Bulls approached the game against the Magic, but it sure would help if they approached their next game against the Toronto Raptors with a similar mentality like that of the Magic—even if it is against a lower-caliber, Chris Bosh-less team.