"The Grizzlies shuffled lineups but didn't change their winning ways. They grabbed another preseason victory Saturday night -- this time, beating the New Orleans Hornets 97-90 in New Orleans Arena -- and the rotation players earned more trust from coach Lionel Hollins. The coaching staff continued to look at several different lineup combinations with second-year center Hasheem Thabeet and rookie guard Xavier Henry among the starters. The idea was to give center Marc Gasol some rest and see how third-year guard O.J. Mayo played with the second team. This much is for sure after three exhibition games: The Griz are getting a boost in reserve no matter who comes off the bench. "The bench is doing a good job as a unit creating that trust that they can score and play defense," Hollins said. "Eventually we'll get to the right combination and have the right balance for our team. We have to keep exploring." Zach Randolph's 21 points in 24 minutes led the Griz, who had their second and third-leading scorers come off the bench. Sam Young chipped in 12 points, Mayo added 11, and Darrell Arthur finished with eight points and seven rebounds as the Griz wiped out an 18-point, first-half deficit. "The guys off the bench are playing really well," Mayo said. "It's the second game in a row that they finished at a high level. You can tell that overall we're a stronger team." It's also evident that the Griz are looking better defensively. The coaches counted 21 deflections and the Griz have hit that mark in each outing. "We picked it up shooting-wise and our defense stayed solid," Hollins said, referring to how the Griz climbed back into the game. New Orleans shot just 36 percent for the game even though it led 31-13 early." Read more: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/oct/09/grizzlies-shake-up-lineup/
