Magic First To Advance To Second Round

The Orlando Magic became the first sportsbetting team to advance to the second round of the 2010 NBA playoffs with a 99-90 road win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night. The win completes the series sweep, the first in franchise history for the Magic, after the defending NBA finalists finished second to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the regular season standings. Despite having a deep enough squad to get the job done without their star center, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy was upset again to see Dwight Howard foul out again. Howard was held to six points, in his fourth straight game in which he ran in to foul trouble. The 24-year old played just 23 minutes before fouling out for a second consecutive game.

While Orlando has advanced past the opening round, the team it defeated in the Eastern conference finals a year ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers, can advance with a win over the Chicago Bulls on home court Tuesday night in their Bulls vs Cavaliers Odds series. The Cavaliers have faced little adversity in their series, and there is a possibility that the Bulls will be without their star guard Derrick Rose. Rose underwent an MRI on Monday for a sprained left ankle, and although the results revealed no significant tears, head coach Vinny Del Negro acknowledged the fact that a decision on whether or not his star will be in the lineup will not be made until game day. Rose injured his ankle in Sunday’s Game Four loss when he stepped on the foot of Cleveland center Shaquille O’Neal.