Tonight the Chicago Bulls (13-44) host the Memphis Grizzlies (23-35) in the first of two contests set for this season. Memphis lost at home against San Antonio last night, 108-107, while Chicago hits the United Center hardwood looking to avoid a winless homestand after dropping the first two, and 18 of their last 21 overall. In the Grizzlies loss to the Spurs recent trade additions Avery Bradley (career-high 33 points) and center Jonas Valanciunas (23 points / 10 rebounds) provided plenty of grit and fire for the Beal Streeters, but there was just a little too much LaMarcus Aldridge (22 points) in the paint down the stretch, as the seven-time All-Star forward scored San Antonio's final seven points. Grizzlies' rookie Jaren Jackson Jr had a chance to knot the score with two free throws with only a second left to play, but missed the first attempt and in trying to purposely miss the second ended up banking the shot into the basket to give the Spurs the opportunity to run out the clock. Mike Conley, the Grizzlies regular starting point guard, ended up being a late scratch last night due to illness. His availability for this evening is up in the air as of this writing, but one player Bulls fans will sure to be happy to see take the court is backup center Joakim Noah. The longtime Chicago fan favorite came off the bench for Memphis last night and chipped in eight points, four rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes. In 28 games since signing with Memphis after the start of the season, Noah's averaging 5.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in 14 minutes. The Bulls are coming off a 112-99 loss to Milwaukee on Monday. Chicago trailed by just a point at halftime, and was still within a point with a little over two minutes to go in the third before the Bucks went on an 8-1 run to close the quarter. Chicago was able to close within three points with 2:55 left in the game, but Milwaukee got hot again and closed the night on a 12-2 run to capture the victory. Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 27 points and seven assists, while Lauri Markkanen posted his fourth straight double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds. In order for the Bulls to end up on top at the end of tonight's game they're going to have to take a page out of San Antonio's playbook and attempt to overpower and out execute Memphis at both ends of the floor. Offensively Chicago has to keep the ball moving in getting everyone on the floor involved. The Bulls need to make the ball skip from side-to-side and from player-to-player to force the Grizzlies defense to scramble. To that end Chicago's playmakers (Kris Dunn, LaVine, Markkanen as well as Otto Porter Jr.) must play with an aggressive mindset by establishing the will to attack the rim at every opportunity. As a team, Chicago also needs assume command of the boards and attempt to speed the pace of the game by getting out on the break as often as possible so that they can post easy scores before Memphis has an opportunity to set up on defense. From the opening tip until the final buzzer, Chicago must commit to outhustling the Grizzlies in every imaginable way.<doc-sep>Coming off a tough loss the previous night to the rival Spurs, a rebound game against the woeful Bulls could have been just what this new(ish) Grizzlies team needed. Chicago had dropped its last 11 games at the United Center and had only 13 wins on the season. Back-to-backs are no cakewalk in the NBA, but this was supposed to be a very winnable game. Unfortunately, the Bulls had other ideas, coming red-hot out of the gate. Otto Porter had himself a career night, scoring 37 points on a scorching 80% shooting. The Grizzlies put up a tough fight, but another rough 2nd half doomed them once again. Jonas Valanciunas: B+ JV plays bully ball. Pure and simple. He may not have the same range as Marc Gasol, but he has the muscle to bang down low and we witnessed that tonight. Robin Lopez is no slouch of a center, and Valanciunas banged him around all night to the tune of 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. JV brings a real toughness to Memphis that goes beyond the box score. Overall a solid game for the Lithuanian bruiser. Avery Bradley: B I was a big fan of Bradley during his Boston days, and while he may never really be the same player he was in Beantown, so far he has looked much better than he did during his Detroit and Los Angeles tenures. Fresh off a career high 33 points against the Spurs, Bradley once again displayed a scoring touch, scoring 15 points on 58% shooting. L O C K N L O A D E D pic.twitter.com/RF2p8bQrMh — Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 14, 2019 With performances like this, on one’s going to think Memphis made a mistake getting him from the Clippers for JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple. Bruno Caboclo: A- JUST ANNOUNCED: We have signed forward Bruno Caboclo to a multi-year contract. Details: https://t.co/7EextPTru1 pic.twitter.com/VUbt5fJViv — Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 13, 2019 Brazilian KD has had himself a solid few days. While his numbers from the game aren’t the stuff of legend, Caboclo had a good game that showcased his potential that Memphis was willing to take a chance on. After a decent number of outings on consecutive 10-day contracts, Caboclo inked a multi-year deal with the Grizzles, giving fans some cautious optimism that Bruno can fulfill the potential that made him the 20th pick in the 2014 draft. Here’s hoping. The result wasn’t what we hoped for, but there were signs of encouraging. At the very least the remainder of the season should be an interesting one. Follow @sbngrizzlies<doc-sep>Otto Porter Jr. scored a career-high 37 points on 16-for-20 shooting, and the Chicago Bulls pulled away for a 122-110 win over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. Slideshow ( 20 images ) Robin Lopez contributed a season-high 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting for the Bulls, who won for only the fourth time in their past 22 games. Lauri Markkanen finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double in the past nine games. Memphis lost for the second consecutive game after falling short by one point to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. Veteran guard Avery Bradley led the Grizzlies in scoring for a second consecutive contest as he finished with 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Five other Grizzlies players scored 12 points apiece, including Jonas Valanciunas, C.J. Miles, Jaren Jackson Jr., Mike Conley and Delon Wright. Conley, who is battling an illness and did not play one night earlier, shot only 3 of 11 from the field. Porter continued a torrid stretch in his fourth game since joining Chicago via trade from the Washington Wizards, who acquired Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker in return. Porter has shot 62.1 percent (36 of 58) from the field and 57.9 percent (11 of 19) from 3-point range with the Bulls, who have split their past four contests with him in the starting lineup. The Bulls outscored Memphis 55-48 in the second half to help put the game out of reach. Chicago jumped to a 67-62 lead at halftime. The Bulls closed out the first half on a 14-4 run to seize the lead at the break. Markkanen jump-started the outburst with a 3-pointer with 2:59 remaining. Porter added two free throws, a jump shot and a 3-pointer during the run. Grizzlies reserve center Joakim Noah drew a standing ovation from Bulls fans when he checked into the game late in the first quarter. Noah, who played 572 games with Chicago from 2007-16, finished with eight points in 20 minutes. The Bulls and Grizzlies will meet again Feb. 27 in Memphis in their second and final matchup of the regular season. --Field Level Media<doc-sep>This game is a match-up between two lottery teams with two different agendas. On one end, you have the Memphis Grizzlies actively trying to win games in hopes of conveying their pick to Boston this season. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls are tanking and trying to win the Zion Williamson sweepstakes. It’s also a match-up between familiar faces. Justin Holiday returns to Chicago for the first time since being traded. Joakim Noah is forever a Chicago Bulls fan favorite, so he’ll probably get a massive applause tonight. Then, the Grizzlies will face off against Wayne Selden Jr. and their two second round picks — the revenge game is upon us. I fully expect Selden to go for 30 tonight, just because. I caught up with Ricky O’Donnell from Blog a Bull to get this views on the Chicago Bulls and tonight’s game. What does your big board of prospects look like? Zion at No. 1 and then a massive gap before anyone else. I’m all aboard the Zion bandwagon in terms of him being a generational talent that would change everything for the Bulls overnight. The second pick would be such a disappointment in this draft. Ja Morant would be a guy that fits the Buls, but I think he has some serious questions in terms of his defense, shooting ability and frame. I’ve always liked Cam Reddish but he’s been bad this season. I’m not a big R.J. Barrett guy. My sleeper is Jarrett Culver. If the Bulls want a savior in this draft, though, they need to get No. 1. Out of Dunn, Lavine, Markannen, and Carter, who looks like a cornerstone and who looks like an asset? Markkanen and Carter are the cornerstones. It’s a shame Carter got hurt this season because seeing those two play together would have been one of the benefits of this broken year. The organization does not seem very high on Dunn and my assumption is that he’s playing for his job from here on out. LaVine is talented but flawed...wouldn’t be surprised if he’s ultimately traded in a year. What do you think of former Grizzly Wayne Selden so far? I like Selden! There’s such a need for two guards league-wide who can defend multiple positions and shoot well enough. He’s not great, but I’d keep him around. He’s been shooting the ball really well since he came here. The Justin Holiday trade with the Grizzlies is the rare deal the Bulls actually won. What’s Jim Boylen ’s deal? He sucks and should never coach another NBA game for the rest of his life. The man has just sucked the joy out of this entire season. He finally has had them stop playing like grandpas over the last five or so games, so hopefully that sticks, just for my sanity. But Boylen cannot under any circumstances be the coach next year. What matchup are you looking forward to the most? Any time Joakim Noah is in the game. He’s been balling for the Grizzlies lately! Love Joakim forever. Thanks, Ricky, for joining us for this edition of 5 Questions. Be sure to follow his work at Blog a Bull for the best Chicago Bulls content on the web. Follow @sbngrizzlies.<doc-sep>
Chicago Bulls (13-44) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (23-35) 7 p.m., United Center Injury Report: After taking a hard spill against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, the Bulls didn’t have point guard Kris Dunn practice yesterday and he’s listed as questionable to play tonight against Memphis. For The Grizzlies, Kyle Anderson is out with a shoulder injury. Mike Conley missed their game last night with an illness but is expected to play. Grizzlies Lineups: The last time Joakim Noah played in a game at the United Center was Nov. 4, 2016. Every single time he steps onto the United Center floor, the Bulls should make him a new tribute video. When I run for Mayor of Chicago in 2023, that is my platform In one of the happier stories of the NBA season, Noah has found a home in Memphis. He’s played backup minutes, but has averaged 5.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in 28 games in Grind City. With fellow veteran big man Marc Gasol recently getting shipped out to the Toronto Raptors, Noah has seen an uptick in minutes (24.2) and production (13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds). Regardless of numbers, it’s amazing to see the 33-year-old get another chance in the NBA. Returning in the Gasol trade was Jonas Valanciunas who also plays in big lineups off the bench. They acquired even more new rotation players at the deadline in Delon Wright, Avery Bradley (scored 33 last night) and CJ Miles. Lineups: Since the NBA trade deadline, the Chicago Bulls most used five-man lineup is Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, Otto Porter Jr., Lauri Markkanen, and Robin Lopez (52 minutes). This happens to also be the lineup that Jim Boylen has ran out there to start all three games. The early returns aren’t bad with a 5.0 net rating. Porter provides a solid 3-and-D option at a position that the Bulls had filled with guys who either didn’t fit there or weren’t good enough to play the position effectively. The Bulls now have legitimate shooting threats at three positions in their starting lineup (LaVine, Porter, Markkanen) which is an upgrade to what they had before. Porter has been outstanding since joining the Bulls, putting up 17.7 points per game on a sizzling 57.1 percent from the field from long range. This is a rare game where the Bulls are favored, with the Grizzlies being bad, further jumbled by the trade deadline, and losing a close one last night against the Spurs. This may be the Bulls first home win of 2019 as they look to head into the All Star break with ‘optimism’.