Preview: Bulls at Grizzlies

[April 05, 2016]  The Chicago Bulls have dealt with injuries to key players all season but will get absolutely no sympathy from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies, who host the Bulls on Tuesday, set an NBA record when they used their 28th different player of the season on Sunday but have still managed to hang onto the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference.

Guard Bryce Cotton made his team debut on Sunday to become the latest potential replacement for point guard Mike Conley (Achilles), who is not expected to return until the playoffs. Cotton knocked down his lone shot attempt in one minute of play as Memphis suffered a 119-107 loss at Orlando to drop its sixth consecutive game. The Bulls have been without point guard Derrick Rose (elbow) the last two games and Taj Gibson (ribs) the last three but still managed to pull out a 102-98 win in Milwaukee on Sunday. The win brought Chicago above. 500 but it remains two games behind the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers, who are tied for the No. 7 spot in the East.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, WPWR (Chicago), FSN Southeast (Memphis)

ABOUT THE BULLS (39-38): Gibson suffered a cracked rib and the team is preventing him from trying to play through the injury and possibly make it worse. “Believe me, he wants to be out there,” Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters prior to Sunday’s contest. “There’s no doubt about it, but he’s not right. His muscles are still spasming around the fracture and he’s got a lot of pain and soreness in that area.” All-Star guard Jimmy Butler picked up some of the slack with 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting in Sunday’s win and the Bulls hope to at least have Rose back as they begin a tough three-game stretch against Memphis, Miami and Cleveland.

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (41-36): Memphis has benefited from the underperformance of the teams below them in the standings and is managing to hang onto the No. 5 spot in the West despite the lengthy slide. The Grizzlies, who are giving journeymen Jordan Farmar and Xavier Munford the bulk of the minutes at point guard and spending a lot of time in a small lineup to cover the absence of Marc Gasol (foot), are a half-game ahead of the sixth-place Portland Trail Blazers. “Right now we are just trying to figure out how to get over the hump,” veteran guard Vince Carter told reporters. “Each game we feel like we can win and we should win. It hurts when you don’t, so it is plain and simple. At this point there is nothing to talk about.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Grizzlies F JaMychal Green recorded a double-double in two of the last three games and has scored in double figures in five straight.

2. Bulls F Nikola Mirotic is averaging 20.3 points over the last four games.

3. Butler led the way with 24 points when Chicago took down Gasol, Conley and visiting Memphis 98-85 on Dec. 16.

PREDICTION: Bulls 96, Grizzlies 93

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