The Grizzlies spent a lot of money on C/F Darko Milicic so he will get to play a lot. The Grizzlies have to be disappointed that he didn’t win a starting job in Training Camp because they opened up the vault for him. Milicic played in 80 games (16 starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 23.9 minutes, 8.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game. Hakim Warrick will also be an important player off of the bench for the Grizzlies. He played in 82 games (43 starts) last season for the Grizzlies and he averaged 26.2 minutes, 12.7 points 5.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Michael Conley Jr. and Juan Carlos Navarro will both be used a lot by the Grizzlies this season and that’s a good thing. Look for both of them to have a big impact down the road for the Grizzlies. Tarence Kinsey was outstanding as a rookie especially late in the season when he got extended playing time. He played in 48 games (12 starts) last season for the Grizzlies and he averaged 20.2 minutes, 7.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Reserve guard Kyle Lowry missed most of his rookie season with a broken wrist but he showed promise before he was injured. Lowry played in 10 games (0 starts) and he averaged 17.4 minutes, 5.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Veteran Brian Cardinal will likely be sitting at the end of the bench for the Grizzlies. He played in 28 games (1 start) last season for the Grizzlies and he averaged 11.3 minutes, 4.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

The Grizzlies have fortified the bench but they appear to be running out much of the same starting lineup as last season. Pau Gasol will be the starting center this season and the Grizzlies need to keep him healthy. Gasol was accused of being soft before last season but proved all of his skeptics wrong. He averaged 36.2 minutes, 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. Small forward Mike Miller also silenced his critics last season with a huge year that he’s looking to repeat. Miller played in 70 games (69 starts) for the Grizzlies last season and he averaged 39.1 minutes, 18.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He also is an outstanding shooter as he hit 40.6% from three point range last year. Stromile Swift beat out Darko Milicic for the starting power forward job in Training Camp. He played in 54 games (18 starts) last season for the Grizzlies and he averaged 19.1 minutes, 7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. Rudy Gay will be the starting shooting guard for the Grizzlies and expectations are high for him. He played in 78 games (43 starts) last season for the Grizzlies and he averaged 27.0 minutes, 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Damon Stoudamire will be the starting point guard at the start of the season but it won’t be long before either Kyle Lowry or Michael Conley take his job. Stoudamire started to slow on the basketball court last year. He played in 62 games (51 starts) last season for the Grizzlies and he averaged 24.2 minutes, 7.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.