Grizzlies-Magic Pre-Game Three-Pointer
The Grizzlies host the Orlando Magic in their regular-season home opener tonight. The Magic are supposed to be the clear frontrunner in the Southeast Division this season, but lost their own home opener Wednesday night to the division rival Atlanta Hawks, 99-85.
1. Starting Line-up Change?: The sharp contrast between Darrell Arthur’s inspired play off the bench Wednesday against Houston and the listless play of Darko Milicic in the starting lineup could accelerate the inevitable: Arthur’s shot at the starting power forward job. Could this happen as soon as tonight? I think Arthur needs to demonstrate some consistency before he’s anointed as the future at the four, and doing so off the bench for awhile wouldn’t be the worst thing. But — Arthur is clearly the most talented option the team has at that position, and tonight’s game against an Orlando team that starts a smaller, perimeter-oriented four in Rashard Lewis might not provide a great match-up for Darko.
2. Marc Gasol’s Second Act: Marc Gasol had a very impressive NBA debut Wednesday against 7’6” all-star behemoth Yao Ming. Gasol scored 12 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, blocked two shots, and drew Yao out with a couple of 18-foot daggers. Along the way, he was physical enough to get under Yao’s skin and offend some of the locals, with a couple of Houston sports-talk hosts reportedly dubbing Gasol a — wait for it! — “Eurothug.” Awesome!
In his second NBA game tonight, Gasol will face his second monster center in Dwight Howard, the force of nature who went for 22 and 15 with 5 steals and 5 blocks Wednesday against Hawks. Welcome to the NBA, kid. I’m guessing the second go-around will be rougher for Gasol. Yao is a great player, but he’s stationary. Gasol has the height, bulk, and physicality to hang with Yao physically, while Yao wasn’t able to expose Gasol’s lackluster foot speed. Howard’s more dynamic agility will be a stiffer challenge. Look for Gasol and Darko to both have some foul trouble tonight.
3. Three-Point Shooting Disparity: The Grizzlies (0-13) and Magic (4-25) both had big problems from three-point range in their openers. That problem is likely to linger for the Grizzlies. For the Magic? Not so much. Last season, the Magic was second in the league in three-point attempts per game and fourth in three-point percentage. With Howard drawing so much attention in the paint and the other four starters all strong three-point threats (Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Rashard Lewis were all over 40% last season), the Magic are deadly from downtown. The Grizzlies will need to get to the line more to help even out that disparity, something that didn’t happen in Houston. Of course, with Howard patrolling the paint, there’s a big deterrent to attacking the rim. In other words, I’m not expecting the Grizzlies' streak of losing home openers to end tonight.
The Jacob Riis Report: We certainly haven’t seen much of this the past couple of seasons:
Reddick played ahead of Keith Bogans and Courtney Lee off the bench for Orlando in Game 1, so we’ll probably get a look at him.
