The Lead: After playing their first game without Rudy Gay Thursday night in Oklahoma City, the Grizzlies came home to welcome their new players into the lineup for the first time, with better results.
- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Tayshaun Prince had a nice night in his Grizzlies debut.
Despite never practicing with the team, veteran Tayshaun Prince looked like he’d been with the Grizzlies all season. Prince entered the game midway through the first quarter and knocked down his first shot — a mid-range jumper off a Mike Conley feed — 16 seconds later. About half an hour of court time later, the game ended with the ball in Prince’s hands after a defensive rebound and a nine-point win.
In-between, Prince showcased a versatile two-way game: Scoring on mid-range jumpers and long-limbed drives (14 points on 7-11) shooting. Going into the post when Darrell Arthur was able to space the floor at power forward, drawing attention and setting up Arthur for open jumpers (3 assists). Making nice post-entry feeds (perhaps the most underrated advantage he has over Gay). And closing out on shooters. His back-to-back jumpers in the final three minutes allowed the Grizzlies to finally pull away after playing roughly even with the Wizards most of the night.
“He’s a veteran,” Lionel Hollins said of Prince’s debut. “When you’ve been around, there are not any new plays. There are new calls to plays. Once you recognize what the sets are then you learn the calls and can be in the right spot. He’s a high-IQ player.”
