The Grizzlies beat the Oklahoma City Thunder before a small but spirited crowd tonight to win their home preseason opener. I didn’t intend to write this much about a preseason game. Really I didn’t …
- The Iverson Show: Debut delayed.
1. A.I. Out: The Grizzlies announced just before the game that Allen Iverson is expected to miss three weeks after an MRI revealed a partial tear in his left hamstring. Iverson gave a brief press conference prior to the game, saying that he hoped to be back for the last couple of preseason games. I have no particular reason to doubt the Grizzlies or Iverson here, but it’s hard not to notice that we are exactly three weeks away from the regular-season opener.
This development taps into my own mixed feelings about the whole Iverson experiment: Here we are at the first home game of the season and the on-court action is obscured by a (minor) controversy regarding Iverson. It should be noted, however, that Iverson was on the bench with the team the whole game and was very animated in encouraging teammates (and questioning calls).
The primary question Iverson’s absence raises is how it will impact his role on the team as the regular season begins. Most people I talked to at the Forum tonight expected Iverson to start the season coming off the bench. We shall see.
