It's basketball time again in the Bluff City as the Grizzlies opened the 2009-10 season by hosting the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins is not mincing words after the team's opening-night loss to the Pistons. Stressing defense and intensity over offense, Hollins called out Marc Gasol, who put up decent numbers, saying, "Well, he didn't block any shots. He didn't guard anybody." The man means business. In his mind, basketball is a team game. He is talking the talk and he expects his players to walk the walk. A few individuals played well tonight, but until they come together as a unit, their coach will not be impressed.
That kind of approach can be good for a young team to stress that the individual stats don't matter if the team doesn't win, or at least play together. The Pistons offered a daunting challenge to start the season for the Grizzlies, who played well during the preseason. Even if they aren't the Pistons of five years ago, they are still no pushover. The fact that the Grizzlies made plays and worked as a team during the preseason raises the possibility that tonight's setback is simply a case of opening-night jitters. However, this is still a young team with a few new pieces, so there is some learning to be done.
Gasol scored 21 points and added 15 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies. Contrary to his coach's statement, he did indeed block three shots on the night. Marcus Williams led the reserves with four points. The Grizzlies' bench will be a focal point this season after the departures of Quinton Ross and Hakim Warrick in the offseason. Letting those two go, particularly Warrick, is just another inexcusable act by the Grizzlies' front office.
The Grizzlies outrebounded the Pistons 49-39 but allowed 51 percent shooting, while they made only 36 percent of their own shots.
Keywords: Detroit Pistons, Lionel Hollins, Marc Gasol, Marcus Williams, Memphis Grizzlies
