Grizzlies play on newly-designed floor
With the maiden voyage of the preseason out of the way, the Grizzlies will hit the (newly designed) floor at FedExForum for the first time Friday.
Memphis, which fell 131-115 to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday in Birmingham, will face the Atlanta Hawks at 7 p.m. in a contest televised by Fox Sports Southeast - Memphis. It can also be seen on NBA TV.
The tussle will feature two of the league's top rookies, both coming off strong debuts. The Grizzlies' Jaren Jackson Jr., the fourth overall pick in June's draft, dropped 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting and had 3 rebounds and 3 assists despite fouling out. The fifth overall pick, Trae Young, gave the Hawks 11 points and eight assists in 20 minutes of his team's 116-102 win over the New Orleans Pelicans Monday.
Mike Conley (16) and DeAndre' Bembry (20 off the bench) were the leading scorers in their respective teams' preseason openers.
As expected, Conley and Marc Gasol were in the starting lineup versus the Rockets. Garrett Temple, Chandler Parsons and JaMychal Green made up the rest of the starting five.
Afterward, Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he will use the rest of the preseason to experiment with different combinations.
"We'll be fluid," he told Grind City Media on Tuesday. "We want to see some pairings and how guys play with one another. Our responsibility is to fill an entire lineup. We've got to find pieces that match. Some guys who may have been starters may have to play with the bench group because that's where they fit best.
The Grizzlies were without Ivan Rabb, MarShon Brooks and Yuta Watanabe against the Rockets. Hawks notables who did not play in their preseason opener included Dewayne Dedmon and rookie Omari Spellman. Dedmon (ankle) will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Spellman (shin) returned to practice Wednesday after sitting out the past week.