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Wolves Preparing For Two Upcoming Games Against Memphis

The Wolves open up their season on Wednesday in Memphis against the Grizzlies.

For Minnesota, it’s kind of an odd way to start the season considering the Wolves just played the Grizzlies on Oct. 19 in preseason play and the teams will play again on Tuesday, Nov. 1 to open up the season at the Target Center.

Oddly enough, the Wolves play the Grizzlies again on Nov. 19. If there’s a seeding battle between these two teams come playoff time, the tiebreaker could be decided in the first 12 games of the season.

The more that changes around the NBA, it seems like the more things stay the same in Memphis. Dave Joerger is now in Sacramento. David Fizdale is now the team’s head coach. Memphis also went out and signed wing Chandler Parsons to a deal, although we aren’t sure if he’ll start the season due to a knee injury.

But otherwise, this is the same grit and grind Memphis squad that has been a staple in the Western Conference playoffs since Charlie Sheen was fired from “Two and a Half Men.”

The Wolves will have their hands full, playing the Grizzlies in the first two of the three games. The Grizzlies are still led by Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, and Zach Randolph will now come off the bench while JaMychal Green will start at power forward, giving the Grizzlies a little more range in the starting five and an instant offensive player with Randolph coming off the bench.

Fizdale came in with the hopes of speeding up the offense for Memphis and moving Randolph to the bench should help in that regard.

Conley cashed in the offseason for a reason. He had a PER of 19.4 last season and while there’s not one number on his stat sheet that sticks out, it’s the combination of all of them that makes Conley such a solid point guard in the NBA. He hasn’t made an All-Star game, yet, and that just shows how stacked the point guard position is in the NBA.

“He’s a great guard who has been underrated in this league,” Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio said after Monday’s practice. “He’s one of the toughest point guards. He’s a lefty, but he can finish with both hands even sometimes better floater with the right. He can shoot, he can control and he can play defense. He can guard. He’s one of the best in the league.”

There are doubts on whether or not the team is too old to compete in the West, but if Gasol and Conley can remain healthy, there aren’t many better point guard/center combinations in the NBA.

Wednesday’s game between the Grizzlies will air on Fox Sports North and WCCO-Radio 830 AM. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.