As I gear up for the final stretch of season-preview material — both here and in next week’s print edition of the Flyer — let’s pause to toss out a few recent notes and links of potential interest to Grizzlies fans:
For starters, if you missed it, we’re giving away a couple of pairs of tickets — choice seats! — to Wednesday’s home opener. Check that out here.
The Grizzlies waived free agent roster invites Damien Wilkins and Josh Davis yesterday. The Davis move is disappointing. The team had one open roster spot and Davis had performed well in the preseason. He also could have filled a situational role — a frontcourt floor-stretcher — that no-one on the current roster could fill. The sense I got was that Davis was highly regarded throughout the organization. I don’t know for a fact that the team wanted to keep Davis and the owner vetoed spending the extra money to keep him, but that’s what I suspect. I also have a hunch — and only a hunch — that if Lionel Hollins had his way the team would have kept Davis and Wilkins, even if it meant buying out a current player (such as Hamed Haddadi). This team needs more solid veterans, even if those veterans are only on the back end of the rotation. If Davis was cut loose as an ownership mandate, then you have to ask: How can you demand playoffs and not do minimum things to give your coach the tools he wants to make that happen?
“Green Onions” Goes Beale Street Blue: The Grizzlies also announced yesterday the entertainment lineup for opening night, featuring the great Booker T. Jones playing as part of the halftime show. Check here for the full lineup. Also, if you want Chris Wallace and Lionel Hollins to bag your groceries, then check this out.
NBA.com’s John Schuhmann points out that the last 11 teams to go through preseason with one of fewer losses have made the playoffs — potential good news for the Grizzlies, who are 7-0 heading into their final preseason game tonight against the Detroit Pistons. Schuhmann also shows that the Grizzlies have looked good defensively in the preseason.
This 82Games.com article from a few seasons ago backs up the assertion that there’s a correlation between a really good preseason record and regular-season success.
