3 storylines to watch in Memphis Grizzlies’ preseason opener

Grizzlies Preseason Opener, Storyline No. 2: Will we see Desmond Bane run the offense?

One of the more surprising storylines this offseason has been Head Coach Taylor Jenkins’ willingness to use Desmond Bane at the point guard spot. This was evident during Summer League play when Bane emerged as one of the best players in the summer competition.

Taylor Jenkins had the second-year shooting guard doing a majority of the team’s ball-handling. This didn’t come as much of a surprise. Rather, the big surprise was the fact that Bane was thriving on-ball.

Sure, he wasn’t passing the ball like Ja Morant, but he was an extremely effective player on the court, particularly in terms of scoring the basketball. Bane finished third out of all summer league players with 24 points per game.

He did turn the ball over three times per contest while averaging just four assists per game. That said, he had a really strong stat line for a guy who was considered as pure of a shooting guard as you’ll find last season.

This situation will be complicated by the fact that Memphis added another point guard in Kris Dunn, who could eventually turn into the team’s long-term backup. That said, Jenkins has a handful of options to work with here — we’ll have to wait and see what he ends up doing.