The Chicago Bulls will look to put two wins together on Monday night against Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies. Read on to check out the biggest keys to look out for during tonight’s game.
The Bulls travel to Memphis tonight to face off against the new-look Grizzlies. Gone are the days of Grit-n-Grind and glacial paces. Marc Gasol is shooting 3-pointers now. The Bulls will hope to put up a good enough fight to take down the Grizzlies and get themselves back to a .500 record after Jimmy Butler’s absence sent them on a 3-game losing skid.
It’s been an inspiring season for the Grizzlies thus far. When point guard Mike Conley went down with a back injury earlier in the season, almost everyone assumed it meant curtains for Memphis’s playoff hopes. However, the ragtag crew of Troy Daniels, Andrew Harrison, Tony Allen, and Benjamin Button (read: Vince Carter) managed to help Gasol and Zach Randolph put together more wins than anyone could have expected.
Memphis sits at 24-17, good for the seventh seed in the West. Normally, one would think that this would put Memphis in danger of the lottery should things turn sideways, but the difference between seventh and eighth in the West this year is more dramatic than it has been in recent memory.
The Bulls, on the back of a newly recovered Jimmy Butler, will hope to knock this feel good story down a few pegs. Let’s go through what the Bulls will have to do in order to leave Memphis with a win tonight.
Finding a Way to Score
One thing that hasn’t changed in Memphis: Defense. The Grizzlies currently boast the second best defensive rating in the NBA behind the behemoths over in Utah, and if the Bulls want to score enough points to make the game competitive, their offense will have to be firing on all cylinders. By that I mean the Bulls’ chances could be better.
Beyond Wade’s streakiness and the occasional hot hand from Doug or Niko, the Bulls’ offense is almost entirely Jimmy Butler’s responsibility. This would be a slightly smaller problem if Jimmy played the majority of his minutes with teammates that complimented his offensive game. Enter Dwyane Wade.
We’ve seen enough minutes this year to conclude that a 5-man unit with Jimmy, Wade, Taj Gibson and Robin Lopez just doesn’t have the same offensive firepower that a unit with Jimmy, Niko, Doug, and Felicio does, despite how much more talented the former lineup might be.
Apr 5, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Cristiano Felicio (6) is fouled by Memphis Grizzlies forward JaMychal Green (0) as guard Tony Allen (9) defends at FedExForum. Memphis defeated Chicago 108-92. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Projected starting lineups
Thankfully for the Bulls, Jimmy Butler returned on Saturday evening against the New Orleans Pelicans and it was like he didn’t miss a beat in leading the Bulls to a bounce-back win.
Dwyane Wade (scheduled rest) and Nikola Mirotic (flu) have already been ruled out for Sunday night’s game in Memphis, so the Bulls will have yet another different starting lineup.
With that being said, the Bulls could look to spacing out the floor by inserting Doug McDermott into the lineup to play off of Butler in the back court, which has been a good thing for the Bulls in spurts this year.
The Grizzlies aren’t exactly going to light up the scoreboard, so despite McDermott’s ineffectiveness on defense at times, his offense might be needed against the “Grit-and-Grind” Grizzlies.
Projected starting lineup for the Chicago Bulls:
Michael Carter-Williams, Jimmy Butler, Doug McDermott (in for Wade), Taj Gibson and Robin Lopez
Projected starting lineup for the Memphis Grizzlies:
Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Chandler Parsons, JaMychal Green and Marc Gasol
Prediction
This is the Bulls’ fifth game since Monday, Jan. 9.
With the Bulls shorthanded yet again and on the road, a win doesn’t seem too likely against the Grizzlies. The Grizz sit eight games over .500 and seven games over .500 at home alone. They’re still a pain to deal with in terms of trying to score, which is a bad thing to hear for the league’s worst offense.
Grizzlies hand the Bulls their third straight loss on the road, 99-89.
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