Grizzlies Cruise Past Depleted Hornets as Under Cashes Comfortably

The Grizzlies closed their preseason slate with a businesslike 117-98 dismantling of Charlotte, and DarkHorse's under 229.5 sailed home with 14.5 points to spare. This one played out exactly as forecasted: a rotation circus featuring deep benches, zero urgency, and offensive execution that belonged in a summer league scrimmage.

Memphis controlled tempo from the opening tip, building a cushion while Charlotte's skeleton crew—already without multiple rotation pieces—struggled to generate anything resembling rhythm. The Hornets' injury report read like a CVS receipt, and it showed. Camp bodies got extended run, possessions stalled in the halfcourt, and the scoreboard crawled along like rush hour traffic on I-40.

The 215-point total was never in jeopardy. Both sides treated this like the preseason finale it was: evaluating fringe roster guys, keeping starters on pitch counts, and protecting anyone remotely important from unnecessary contact. Memphis did what competent home teams do against undermanned opponents, but nobody confused this with playoff intensity.

DarkHorse nailed the read. Preseason finales are grinder's gold when you trust the fundamentals—short rotations for relevant players, extended minutes for guys who won't sniff regular-season action, and offensive sets that look like they were drawn up in crayon. The under was never sweating, and neither were we.