Grizzlies at Hornets Game Preview

Who: Memphis Grizzlies (8-5, 3-3 road) at Charlotte Hornets (8-4, 4-2 home)

When: 6:00 PM CT

Where: Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina

How to watch/listen: Fox Sports Southeast/92.9 FM ESPN Memphis

Injury report:

Memphis Grizzlies: Brandan Wright (out, ankle), Chandler Parsons (out, knee), Tony Allen (questionable, groin)

Charlotte Hornets: Cody Zeller (questionable, shoulder), Jeremy Lamb (out, hamstring)

Probable starters:

Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley, Tony Allen, James Ennis, JaMychal Green, Marc Gasol

Charlotte Hornets: Kemba Walker, Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller

Last week was great for Memphis Grizzlies basketball. The team won three of four games on the road, including a breathtaking performance in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

After a disapointing loss against the Bucks in Milwaukee, coach David Fizdale highlighted the lack of effort on the defensive end as the main factor in the team struggles early in the season.

The Grizzlies responded with four wins in old-style fashioned based on the Grind and Grind hallmark: defense. In that spam, Memphis allowed 84.5 points and only the Clippers were able to score over a hundred points.

The return of Tony Allen certainly has something to do with it but it has been the collective effort what has made the difference. In this respect, the Grizzlies have substantially limited the production of some of their opponent's best scorers.

• at Utah: Gordon Hayward, 13 points (4/14 from the field)
• at Clippers: Chris Paul, 9 points (3/11 from the field)
• at Dallas: Harrison Barnes, 15 points (5/17 from the field)
• vs Minnesota: Andrew Wiggins, 7 points (2/11 from the field)

State of the roster

Tony Allen will hopefully start tonight next to James Ennis if the former recovers from a mild re-aggravation of his right groin suffered during the contest against Minnesota. The Grindfather had to sit out four games because of that injury.

Chandler Parsons will miss at least two weeks due to a left knee bone bruise. The good news is that Parson's injured knee is not the same one that underwent surgery during last season. He will be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, Brandan Wright has now begun rehabilitation after his ankle surgery. The backup center, who played 12 games last season, has been sidelined for all 10 of the team’s regular season games this season.

On another note, rookie point guard Wade Baldwin has been sent to the Iowa Energy, the D-league team affiliate for the Grizzlies, for this week's games. It seems that Andrew Harrison has finally won the battle for the backup point guard position even if he has shown some inconsistencies especially on the offensive end.

State of the Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets will be the host of the Grizzlies tonight. They started off hot this season, with a 5-1 record for the first time in franchise history. Since then, they have accumulated three wins and three losses.

Kemba Walker is having a career season so far averaging 25.3 points and 5.5 assists per game. His match-up with Mike Conley, who is also having a great start of the season, will definitely be one of the keys to the game.

Charlotte has been playing unselfish basketball early in the season, ranking third in the league in assists per game. The Grizzlies' defensive rotations will be extremely important tonight in order to limit the Hornets' ball movement.

Last season Charlotte swept the series against Memphis. During those two games, Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum averaged 27.5 points and 20 points respectively.

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