Memphis Grizzlies Opposing Views: Detroit Pistons

Beale Street Bears is continuing their series of taking a look at the Memphis Grizzlies’ opponents around the league. This time we take a look at the Detroit Pistons to see how they match up against Memphis.

This storied franchise has been in a huge dry spell for the last decade, finishing over .500 only once in the last nine seasons. Since their era of Big Ben, Tayshaun Rip Hamilton, Rasheed and Chauncey ended, the Pistons have been absolutely atrocious. But their fortunes can change a little bit this season.

Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons have made some intriguing moves this offseason and put together a pretty solid starting five. Their starting five can consist of Reggie Jackson, Avery Bradley, Stanley Johnson, Jon Leuer and Andre Drummond. That’s a pretty good lineup when you consider how bad the Eastern Conference will be this season. The Pistons’ biggest problem will be their bench — which is pretty ugly right now.

Enough about the Pistons, lets see how the Memphis Grizzlies match up with this questionable Pistons team.

Advantage for the Memphis Grizzlies

The biggest advantage for the Grizzlies against the Pistons is their starting point guard and their starting center.

Mike Conley and Marc Gasol should have monster games against their counter parts of Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond. I’m not taking anything away from Jackson and Drummond, but they don’t come close to the Grizzlies’ duo.

After a breakout year for Mike Conley, I expect him to be even hungrier when he faces lesser opponents. Marc Gasol dropped 38 points in a matchup in December this past season against Detroit, and I expect him to keep up that beatdown of the Pistons this upcoming season.

Advantage for the Detroit Pistons

Now the Pistons do have an advantage on this Grizzlies’ team, and that will come at the shooting guard position. T

he Pistons traded Marcus Morris for Avery Bradley and a 2019 second-round pick. I’m a huge fan of Avery Bradley as I believe he’s one of the most underrated players in the NBA. His ability to be a lock-down perimeter defender and knock down 3’s can make Bradley become a huge piece in the Pistons’ success this season. With the Grizzlies having Wayne Selden, Ben McLemore and Tyreke Evans as the shooting guards, it’s clear to see why the Pistons have a pretty significant advantage over the Grizzlies in this category.

Closing Comments

This matchup shouldn’t be very hard for the Memphis Grizzlies. However in past times, the worse the team, the worse the Grizz play. When they do see each other on the court, expect Conley and Gasol to have huge games but also see Avery Bradley do his best impersonation of Tony Allen by trying to shut down the Grizzlies’ elite point guard.

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