Memphis Grizzlies vs. Chicago Bulls – NBA Preview
The Memphis Grizzlies will face the Chicago Bulls on Friday night at the United Centre, Chicago. As far as standings are concerned there is no match between the two sides. The Bulls are currently sitting at Eastern Conference No
1 spot, while the Grizzlies are barely hanging on to the number eighth position in the Western Conference.
In their last encounter on March 4, in spite of having an excellent home record the Bulls were beaten by the Grizzlies and snapped their five game losing streak at United Centre. Memphis’ Zach Randolph remained the major contributor
for his side in that contest; he tallied 31 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. In points Randolph’s average is 20 and in boards he averages 12.5. So the Grizzlies should be confident of repeating the previous performance again.
The Grizzlies last victory 90-87 against the Boston Celtics, has not only aided them uphold their two game lead for the eighth spot in the West, but it has also amplified Chicago's gain over the Celtics for the first position in
the East.
Chicago’s small guard Kyle Korver expressed his views on one game advantage over the Celtics: "Playing for that one seed every game means so much. We're going to be right there with Boston. One bad loss or a couple of wins means
everything."
The Grizzlies hardly looked competitive, as their shooting average is not up to the mark. Their major problem is that they are not good on the road, and they need to correct it in order to progress in the second season. Another
setback to the Grizzlies is Rudy g*y; due to his shoulder injury he is not available for the rest of the season. He was really the back bone of the team.
So far, the Grizzlies have won most of their games on the basis of good defence. During their successive conquests over Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz and Celtics, they allowed not more than 83.3 percent points on a 41.8 percent shooting.
But the good thing happened for the Grizzlies, is that they had a moral raising victory against the Celtics. Overall it was a great team effort, as eight of their players scored no less than eight points, but no one scored more than 13.
On the other hand, the Bulls have done well during this season. They won 10 games out of 11 and point margin in their last two victories combined 73 points. They have successive gigantic triumphs over the Sacramento Kings and the
Atlanta Hawks, defeating them by 30 and 33 points in turn. MVP contender Derrick Rose and his fellow Luol Deng are in great knick, as the Bulls are gliding their way into the playoffs.
When the Bulls met the Grizzlies back on January 17 at Memphis, the Bulls came out as the winners. They thrashed a three game losing streak against the Grizzlies with a 96-84 victory. Rose made his career’s first ever triple-double
with 22 points, 12 dimes and 10 boards and Deng added 28 points for the Bulls.
Deng who has averaged 21.7 points in the last six games, said, "We have a lot of confidence. When our mind-set is right on defence, we seem to work harder on offense. When we're not as focused on defence, it kind of leads to our
offense. We just go through the motions. So it always starts with defence."
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