Friday night, Memphis gets to open the home season at FedEx Forum. Ought to be a sell-out, a raucous crowd of Memphians cheering on the home team. Detroit isn't a pushover, though.
Even with Jennings and Stuckey being out with injuries, Detroit looked cohesive against Washington Wednesday night in an 11-point victory. Expect more of the same on Friday in their first road game of the year. Monroe and Josh Smith up front will be handful for Memphis' front line. Monroe went for 24 points and 16 rebounds. Memphis needs to check him off the boards.
In Memphis' opening loss at San Antonio, there were some interesting signs. One, the team took 93 shots (quite a few for this team). Maybe the same will happen on Friday night. Also, Mike Miller went 2/3 in 3 PT FG/A, as a part of his 11 points off the bench. Prince only played 20 minutes in the opener, and may be at a matchup disadvantage in this game. Gasol scored 14 and added 9 rebs in 34 minutes, but Randolph only scored 2 in 25 minutes. The Grizzlies need more from each player up front.
For Friday night, Ed Davis and Jon Leuer may be keys, as young frontliners who have to match Detroit's Drummond-Monroe-Smith combination. Bynum will direct the offense, but Conley should be able to match Bynum's effort. Allen should also win his matchup with Billups.
If it becomes a run-and-gun game, Detroit could squeak out a victory. I'm rooting for Memphis, but I wouldn't be surprised if Detroit pulled out a 105-99 or so victory. If the Grizz are 0-2 after Friday night, will the organization start to feel some pressure?
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