Grizzlies-Hawks Preseason Shootout Torches DarkHorse Under Call

The Grizzlies rolled into Atlanta and torched the nets in a 132-123 barn-burner that made our under 231.5 look foolish from tipoff. Final tally: 255 points, missing the mark by over three possessions.

So what happened to all that preseason restraint we projected? Both squads apparently forgot the memo about conservative gameplans and shortened rotations. Instead of the plodding, substitution-heavy slog we anticipated, we got an up-tempo track meet where offensive rhythm never broke down. The Grizzlies put up 132 in a preseason tune-up—that's regular-season firepower with none of the defensive intensity we expected from evaluation-mode rosters.

Our thesis wasn't crazy: preseason unders cash because camp bodies can't score and coaches prioritize reps over results. But when both benches catch fire and defensive rotations look this porous, even fringe roster players find easy buckets. Memphis and Atlanta combined to shoot the lights out, sustaining pace well beyond those modest 103-104 possession projections from last season's metrics.

The reality check stings: not every preseason game features the grinding, low-efficiency mess we banked on. Sometimes the rim just gets bigger for everyone, starters and scrubs alike. Tonight was one of those nights, and we took the loss.