NBA: Chicago Bulls vs. Memphis Grizzlies Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Chicago Bulls will try to end their negative streak against one of the hottest teams in the league, the Memphis Grizzlies. Even though the Grizzlies suffered a loss in Dallas three days ago, they are looking superb so far, and that one failure for sure won’t stop Taylor Jenkins’ unit and break their morale. Meanwhile, the Bulls also had a very successful period, but a few injuries and some unexpected factors put them in an unpleasant position. With three losses in a row and two starters out, Chicago faces a huge problem.

Preview

Chicago Bulls (27-14, +280) lost to the Brooklyn Nets, the Golden State Warriors, and the Boston Celtics over the past three games, recording four defeats in the previous five events. After a long winning streak, this is something that cooled down the Bulls’ fans.

Though, Chicago is still atop of the conference, ahead of the Nets and other rivals, but will be some time without Zach LaVine, who injured soft tissue in his knee. LaVine is one of the top ten scorers in the league and a vital part of the Bulls’ offense along with DeRozan. On top of all this, Chicago will probably play without Lonzo Ball, the starting point guard.

Even though they were heavily weakened in Boston, the Bulls fought until the very end, losing to the Celtics after a very close finish, 114-112. DeRozan scored 23 points, Coby White 19, and Ayo Dosunmu had 21 with 10 assists. The focal point of the attack was Nikola Vucevic, who had 27 points with six assists and five boards.

Memphis Grizzlies (30-15, -220) have lost to the Dallas Mavericks, 112-85, ending their super streak of 11 consecutive wins. What is interesting is that the Grizzlies lost at home at their FedEx Forum.

The key moments in this event took place in the third period, once Dallas outscored the rivals 34-16. Memphis shot only 38.2%, while the guests made 51.6% of their attempts. Also, the Mavs controlled the glass better, outrebounding Morant and the guys, 52-41. Therefore, the difference in points from the paint was also very high, 72-50 in Mavs’ favor.

Morant had 19 points, a team-high, while Desmond Bane scored 16. Kyle Anderson added 12 off the bench, which was it from the Grizzlies’ scorers in this game. Jaren Jackson Jr. dropped only eight buckets, shooting 0-for-6 from deep.

Head to Head Games

This is the first game in the 2021/2022 season between these two teams. We saw the Grizzlies clinching wins in both events during the previous campaign. The first in Memphis was 101-90, and the second one in Chicago saw the Grizzlies beating the Bulls 126-115.

Prediction

The Bulls have two of their very important players ruled out, and are still in shock due to LaVine’s injury. On the other side, the Grizzlies lost after a long time, and they will come out with a sense of urgency, motivated to erase the recent failure and continue with triumphs. A lot is at stake for them when it comes to the race in the West, so they can’t afford to miss chances like this one. The spread is 5.5 points, and we believe that they won’t have hard times covering it.

Pick: Grizzlies -5.5

Here is the preview for the Jazz vs Lakers game.