Brandon Miller, Hornets Round Out Preseason Play vs. Cam Boozer and the Grizzlies

Game preview written by: Albert Böttcher

Preseason basketball has come and almost gone! And the Charlotte Hornets aren’t much smarter than they were before, or at least not as smart as they hoped they would be.

That’s partly because of injuries, partly because some players have underperformed a bit, and partly because the Hornets have had to face two three-win teams in the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets.

They might face another one in the Grizzlies, who have wins over Atlanta and Chicago with only one loss, on the contrary, against Orlando. To avoid getting mauled by the Grizz, it’d be great to have some more hands on deck. Sadly, that won’t be the case:

Injury Report:

Charlotte Hornets: OUT – Coby White (L Calf), Kon Knueppel (L Hamstring), Grant Williams (R Hamstring), Kylan Boswell (R Knee) QUESTIONABLE – Grayson Allen (R Knee)

Memphis Grizzlies: OUT – Isaiah Stewart QUESTIONABLE – Micah Peavy

Unlike Charlotte, Memphis can count on most of their guys to suit up. That goes for ROTY candidate Cam Boozer and the plethora of other young players the Grizzlies have, as well as long-time scoring savant Jerami Grant.

Tonight’s Opponent: The Memphis Grizzlies (Last Season: 25-57 | 13th In The East)

The Grizzlies finally turned a new page this offseason. Having traded Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, and Dillon Brooks previously, they were able to offload the final piece of their once-upon a time playoff-core, in Ja Morant, to Portland.

This leaves third-year NBA head coach Tuomas Iisalo with a lot of young and hungry players who should fit his aggressive, substitution-heavy basketball philosophy. Similar to the Nets, the Grizzlies are far from star-studded, but they have a demanding, innovative head coach. They will play hard night in and night out unlike more talented but less motivated teams (e.g., Milwaukee).

Offensively, Memphis was a very transition-happy team last season. Iisalo’s squad had the sixth most field goal attempts in transition per game, as well as the fourth most field goal attempts in spot-up situations. In isolation field goal attempts per game, Memphis ranked 28th.

This trend is likely to continue in the upcoming regular season, as almost everyone on the roster is young, quick, very athletic, and also happy to playmake and share the ball.

The challenge for the Hornets will be to defend well as a team, something they’ve failed to do at times this preseason. Not one single player on the Grizzlies roster demands special attention or exceptional one-on-one defense, but every one of them poses enough of a threat to make the system they play in a dangerous one.

One final aspect to consider heading into tonight’s matchup: Memphis hasn’t played a game in a week. Their last outing was on the ninth of October. Look out for the Hornets to potentially pull away early if the Grizz are a little rusty.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Charlotte Hornets

Dennis Schröder
Brandon Miller
Royce O‘Neale
Naz Reid
Moussa Diabaté

Memphis Grizzlies

Ty Jerome
Cedric Coward
Jaylen Wells
Cameron Boozer
Zach Edey

To hear more preseason thoughts, feel free to check out the Charlotte Hornets on SI YouTube (HERE) or Spotify (HERE) podcast channels.

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