Links: The Sports Guy, Navarro speaks, Rookies

Bill Simmons (ESPN) finally got around to his full-fledged Western Conference Preview and has wisely downgraded the Grizzlies from a prediction of 42 wins and a #7 seed to 35 wins and a #10 seed....both numbers that sound strangely familiar to this blogger. He's a big fan of Kyle Lowry -- what's not to love? -- but doesn't seem to understand that Hakim Warrick doesn't fit that well with this Grizzlies team going forward. I guess you cannot expect a guy to be familiar with all 30 teams in the NBA and their bench players, though.

Over on the Grizzlies Official Message Board, poster "frangs" provided a link to a recent interview that Juan Carlos Navarro gave in which he talks about opponents attempting to trash-talk with him and the language barrier that he must cope with. Of course, it is all in Spanish, but I treated it just like the soap operas on Telemundo and make up things when I don't understand what he's saying. It's a two-parter totaling 18 minutes.

Part One
Part Two

David Thorpe has an updated Rookie Watch up on ESPN Insider (free preview) with some good thoughts on Juan Carlos Navarro.