Memphis Grizzlies Should Not Worry About Preseason Struggles

By Nathan Grubel @The_Only_Grubes on October 13, 2014

The Memphis Grizzlies have struggled to look like a team in top form during the NBA preseason, but that should not worry the team too much, as the team still has a veteran core looking to win a championship.

Over the first three games of the preseason stretch, the Grizzlies are 1-2, having lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in a close game, 86-83, as well as to the Houston Rockets in a blowout, 113-93. Their latest game resulted in a win over the Atlanta Hawks, 93-88, which already speaks to the fact that the team may be on the right track.

The preseason is all about players getting warmed up and used to playing at the speed of the NBA before the season starts. So with the preseason sort of being used as a warm-up, a lot of the veteran guys will not get big minutes, and that has held true so far for the Grizzlies. The core of Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph has only been on the floor for 55.6 minutes per game over this span, which comes out to around 20 minutes per game per player. That’s next to nothing compared to what their workloads will be in the regular season when the team is pumping out wins.

So with the veteran core not on the floor, the top-end production is not there, resulting in a lot of younger players getting bigger roles on both ends of the floor. A lot of those players do not get regular minutes like the veterans do, so they are more likely to make mistakes in terms of operating within the offense and playing defense as a team since they are not used to playing with each other as much. Both of those things can easily lead to losses against teams who have players that mesh well together, such as the Rockets.

The preseason really is a time to relax and get back to business. The veterans will be ready to play big minutes when the time comes. For now, just enjoy watching the young talent take the floor and fight to earn their spots in the rotation. The good times will roll soon enough.

Nathan Grubel is a Memphis Grizzlies writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @The_Only_Grubes, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.