Early fireworks, hype fade into reality for Grizzlies

[La Bomba]

The Grizzlies started the 2009-10 season on fire before flaming out.

 

As part of an elaborate pregame performance that featured Three 6 Mafia ... and "American Idol" finalist Lil Rounds ... and the dance troupe JabbaWockeeZ, pyrotechnics exploded behind both backboards. Big blasts that shook the building.

 

Management spent much of the offseason working to add some sizzle, acquiring high-profile free agents Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson, and then showcasing the new-look Grizzlies at a series of open preseason practices across the city.

 

And at FedExForum on Wednesday, the hope was to capitalize on all that good feeling and excitement. But an evening that started with fireworks ended with a fizzle, a 96-74 loss to the Detroit Pistons making clear that the Grizzlies are a new team with familiar problems.

 

Pistons teammates Richard Hamilton and Ben Gordon, unimpressed by the pregame hoopla, combined to score 47 points before 17,212, who watched the Grizzlies shoot badly and defend even worse. It was a tough start for a team that is, without question, a work in progress.

 

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/28/spirits-willing-but/