The Grizzlies open their home preseason schedule tonight against the Washington Wizards, following a 96-93 loss last night to the Houston Rockets.
Some housekeeping notes: I’ll be in the building and will be doing a post-game report. I’m not planning on doing any thorough live-blogging this season as I’ve found it distracts too much from a close viewing of the game. I will, however, have an in-game post up that I might contribute to as seems warranted. It will also provide a comments forum for anyone who wants to make an observation or ask a question during the game.
I won’t be doing in any game previews for preseason games, but will do post-game reports on games I’m able to attend (which should be three of the four). Once the regular season starts, I’m planning on doing pre-game and post-game blogs on every game I’m able (which will not be all of them), particularly home games.
Last night’s game: With only the box score to go on, a few things stand out:
*Mike Conley: Conley had 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and ZERO turnovers in 24 minutes and shot 2-2 from three-point range. This is exactly the kind of dynamic performance I’m expecting to see a lot of this season. I said to a fellow media person this summer that I think Conley, not O.J. Mayo, will be the Grizzlies second best player this season. I still believe that to be true.
*Hakim Warrick: Warrick may not be getting an extension this month, but his hold on a starting job seems strong despite some (borderline loopy) suggestions about Darko Milicic or Antoine Walker starting at the 4 for the Griz. Warrick certainly didn’t hurt his case last night, with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 28 minutes, not that I expect that kind of rebound and shot-blocking production from Hak very often when the games start to count.
*Rudy Gay: The only zero on Gay’s stat line last night offensive rebounds. We know Gay’s going to score, but for him to become a truly elite player he needs to use his athleticism to fill up the stat sheet at least somewhat like Andrei Kirilenko and Josh Smith do. Gay had three combined blocks/steals in 23 minutes last night. That rate of production needs to be more common this season.
*Hamed Haddadi: Haddadi went 1-3 and committed 4 fouls in his NBA pre-season debut. But he also grabbed 5 boards in limited time, so there was some positive there.
*Vets: Antoine Walker, Quinton Ross, and Greg Buckner combined to shoot 4-19 in 71 minutes. The shoddy offense is to be expected but not too worrying: If that trio gets that many shots or minutes in a regular season game, something’s wrong.
*Three-point shooting: The Griz shot 4-17 (24%) from downtown. No one expects three-point shooting to be a strength of this year’s team, so the percentage is less troubling than the attempts. If the Grizzlies aren’t going to shoot the three well this year, they need to be much more judicious about taking those shots.
Hi Chris. Not sure if you got the chance to actually listen to the game last night, but something stood out for me. Antoine Walker's effort. I heard his name involved in a lot of fast break situations in the last couple of quarters of the game, and he even dove for a loose ball late in the fourth quarter. For a veteran his age, playing in a pre-season game for a team that wasn't sure they would keep him, I was impressed by his hustle and play. I don't think he should get minutes at the expense of a young player who will be a key component for the Griz in the coming years. But as a back up Forward, I think he could prove to be very valuable for a group this young. Last night, he always seemed to be in the right spot and getting the ball to either an open Rudy Gay or O.J. Mayo near the end of the game. I think that is a good sign. His willingness to defer to the team's young scorers. You will probably get a better look at his potential place on the team tonight, but here's hoping he turns into a good addition.