Starting lineups: Jan. 29
A light four-game slate in the NBA on Thursday is highlighted by the Memphis Grizzlies going for their fifth consecutive win against a Denver Nuggets team on the second night of a back-to-back, while the Chicago Bulls look to beat up on the Kobe Bryant-less Los Angeles Lakers.
The Bulls are in the midst of a difficult six-game road trip that began Tuesday when Derrick Rose propelled Chicago to a victory over the NBA-best Golden State Warriors. Rose's game-winning shot in the waning moments of overtime helped mask the point guard's 11 turnovers.
Despite his careless handling of the ball in Tuesday's victory, Rose has begun to look like his former self in recent weeks. Since his last missed game on Jan. 10, Rose is averaging 23.4 points on 46 percent shooting from the field, 5.2 assists and 3.1 3-pointers in nine contests.
Chicago, however, has gone 4-5 over that stretch and has witnessed the Cleveland Cavaliers close the gap in the Central Division to three games.
Here are Thursday's projected starting lineups:
Milwaukee Bucks at Orlando Magic, 7:00 p.m. ET
| Position | Bucks | Magic |
|---|---|---|
| PG | Brandon Knight | Elfrid Payton |
| SG | Khris Middleton | Victor Oladipo |
| SF | Jared Dudley | Aaron Gordon |
| PF | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Channing Frye |
| C | John Henson | Nikola Vucevic |
*Bucks PF Ersan Ilyasova (groin) will not play
*Bucks C Zaza Pachulia (calf) will not play
*Magic SG Ben Gordon is active
*Magic SG Devyn Marble is inactive
New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m. ET
| Position | Knicks | Pacers |
|---|---|---|
| PG | Jose Calderon | C.J. Watson |
| SG | Langston Galloway | Rodney Stuckey |
| SF | Carmelo Anthony | Solomon Hill |
| PF | Jason Smith | David West |
| C | Louis Amundson | Roy Hibbert |
*Pacers SG C.J. Miles (groin) will play
*Knicks C Cole Aldrich (shin) will not play
*Knicks PF Amar'e Stoudemire (ankle, wrist) will not play
*Pacers SG C.J. Miles (groin) will play
Denver Nuggets at Memphis Grizzlies, 8:00 p.m. ET
| Position | Nuggets | Grizzlies |
|---|---|---|
| PG | Ty Lawson | Beno Udrih |
| SG | Arron Afflalo | Courtney Lee |
| SF | Wilson Chandler | Jeff Green |
| PF | Kenneth Faried | Zach Randolph |
| C | Jusuf Nurkic | Marc Gasol |
*Grizzlies PG Mike Conley (wrist) will not play
Chicago Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET
| Position | Bulls | Lakers |
|---|---|---|
| PG | Derrick Rose | Jordan Clarkson |
| SG | Jimmy Butler | Wayne Ellington |
| SF | Nikola Mirotic | Ryan Kelly |
| PF | Pau Gasol | Jordan Hill |
| C | Joakim Noah | Robert Sacre |
*Bulls SF Mike Dunleavy (ankle) will not play
*Lakers SF Nick Young (ankle) will not play