Links: Previews, Recap

SBRForum.com could see the Grizzlies back in the playoffs this season:

OUTLOOK: A full season with Gasol has fans hoping for a return to the postseason, but with Iavaroni learning new faces - and the players doing the same - it might take the first half of the campaign to get things rolling in the right direction. On the plus side, Memphis does have a strong bench, which includes G-F Tarence Kinsey (7.7 points), F Hakim Warrick (12.7) and F-C Stromile Swift (7.8). The Grizzlies should challenge for the playoffs if the team gels in enough time and Gasol continues to grow.

Golden State of Mind thinks we'll finish 10th in the West this year.

Here is my recap of the beatdown that occurred at the FedEx Forum last night, as the Grizzlies played the Indiana Pacers, losing 140-113.

One team couldn't hit water if they fell off the Hernando DeSoto bridge.

The other team couldn't miss with their eyes closed. Guess which was which. The Pacers shot over 70% from the floor in the first half. I know many Grizz fans have blamed this on the defensive deficiencies of the Boys from Beale Street, but only 4 of their 81 first half points came on fast breaks, which has been their Achille's heel this preseason. No, it was a combination of poor rebounding by Memphis and an incredible shooting night for Indiana that resulted in the substantial scoring differential in this game. With it being the final preseason game, I expected to see a few players "mailing it in" and wasn't disappointed. The only things I took away from this game were as follows:

• Brian Cardinal can still shoot.
• Casey Jacobsen can still shoot.
• Mike Miller is tougher than people give him credit for. He took a nasty spill at the very beginning of the game after Ike Diogu undercut him following a breakaway dunk and came back shortly thereafter.
• Juan Carlos Navarro will not be able to bring us back from every 4th quarter deficit.
• Michael Conley is going to be a great PG for a long time in this league.
• Pau Gasol is a sharp dresser.
• Darko Milicic is not someone I would ever want to meet in a dark alley. *Easy joke: You would hope he has a gun, since he misses almost everything he shoots at.* Solid rebounder and shotblocker though.
• Tarence Kinsey isn't quite as good a defender as everyone remembers him being last year.
• Kyle Lowry is the toughest 6 ft. guard to come into the league since Allen Iverson.
• Andre Brown needs to rebound more and shoot less.

Other than that, I chalk it up to being a meaningless preseason game that will be forgotten in a few days.