Chicago Bulls vs. Memphis Grizzlies Game Info: Bulls host bears

Can the hot shooting and great passing continue for a second straight game? The Chicago Bulls looked like a brand new team against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night, but they’re going to need that new look to continue when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.

Must Read: Bulls beat Buzz! Here's our takeaways.

Chicago shot all of the 3-pointers on Monday night. They passed the ball all over the court. They won for the first time in almost two weeks. To make it more Bulls, it was the second game of a back-to-back on the road and featured season-best performances from both Rajon Rondo – starting for the first time in almost two months – and Nikola Mirotic – DNP or inactive for multiple games and supposedly informed that he was going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

The Grizzlies make for a more formidable opponent than the Hornets. While Charlotte has been free-falling in the standings for the better part of two months, Memphis is holding strong as a playoff team in the Western Conference.

The Grizz are a solid squad, but they should be even better since they won’t be putting an unlucky Chandler Parsons on the floor. The oft-injured Parsons was having a hard time creating a positive impact in the lives he touched. Both he and the team are probably better off if he calls it a season and gets healthy for next year.

This is the second and final meeting between these two squads this season. The Bulls won the first meeting between these two sides back in January.

Jimmy Butler has been struggling to dominate the scoring of late, but he’s been racking up assists and rebounds. The real key is going to be the play of the bench, and maybe some of that bench should be starting. Rondo played his best game of the season. He might not be a part of the future, but if Chicago wants to make the playoffs, they’ll need to lean on him for as long as it lasts before inevitably going back to the now-deposed Jerian Grant.

Mirotic and ball movement might be the most important combination on Wednesday night. Bobby Portis has been a nightmare since the Taj Gibson trade, but Mirotic went from inactive to a season-high in scoring with a double-double and 5-for-12 shooting from 3-point range. There are some major “if” statements involved in this, however, it could work. If Mirotic gets the start or is the first substitution and if he remains consistent in his accuracy shooting from deep and if the Bulls move the ball from side to side, patient to find the open shooter – this could work.

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The Grizzlies are a tough team on both ends of the floor and they’re going to cause problems, but if there was ever a time to steal a win from a better team, now is certainly the time. Tony Allen and Mike Conley are going to make life difficult for Chicago, but the biggest problem is going to be Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph in the frontcourt. If Portis gets a start again and Gasol can get his outside game going, life is going to be tough for Bobby and Robin Lopez.

Matchup: Chicago Bulls (32-35) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (37-30)

When: 7:00 p.m. CST

Where: United Center, Chicago, IL

TV: CSN-Chicago

Radio: WLS-AM 890, WRTO 1200 (ESP)

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