Memphis Grizzlies Fall on the Road in Season-Opener Versus Indiana

Memphis Grizzlies Mike Conley NBA Trade Rumors (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Memphis Grizzlies Mike Conley NBA Trade Rumors (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis Grizzlies (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Memphis Grizzlies had a rocky season last year. Things looked way too similar in Wednesday’s blowout loss against the Indiana Pacers.

The Memphis Grizzlies are fully healthy at the moment. They need it to stay that way if they want to win a lot of games and contend for a playoff spot.

Mike Conley and Marc Gasol are good to go, but Chandler Parsons being healthy is the biggest story. Having him as another offensive weapon is key for this season.

The best storyline for Wednesday’s game was Tyreke Evans making his season debut as a member of the Indiana Pacers against his former team. All Memphis fans want to see him succeed, but not when it is versus the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies going with Garrett Temple at the shooting guard spot is not surprising due to the inconsistency of some of the other guys.

Chandler Parsons getting the start over Kyle Anderson might be surprising to some. Anderson came over from San Antonio this offseason to be in the starting lineup in Memphis.

It is a long season, so the lineup will change, especially after performances like we saw against Indiana. You try not to overreact after one game, but if Memphis plays as they did Wednesday, expect them to be one of the worst teams in the league like they were last year. This is what Grizz Nation does not want to hear.

Memphis did show some things that were encouraging, though. Shots just were not falling on the offensive end. The Grizzlies were not expected to be a great offensive team anyway, but they will need to hit shots going forward. The entire team suffered from a rough shooting night.

The defense was very disappointing. The Grizzlies did force a lot of turnovers, but the effort in the paint was subpar, which absolutely has to improve if they want to win on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.