MINNEAPOLIS — Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace no longer has to force himself to forget the euphoria that came with last season in order to focus on the future.

Circumstances have taken care of that.

News that star forward Zach Randolph could miss two months with a torn MCL accelerated Wallace’s efforts to improve the Grizzlies’ frontcourt depth. So the Grizzlies acquired 6-10 power forward/center Marreese Speights from Philadelphia on Wednesday in a three-team trade that sent second-year guard Xavier Henry to New Orleans.

To complete the transaction, Memphis gave Philadelphia its 2012 second-round draft pick. New Orleans also sent a 2013 second-round pick to Philadelphia.

The Griz were reluctant to part with Henry, the 12th-overall pick in 2010, but they decided the move might keep the Grizzlies positioned to make another playoff run.

“In a perfect world we wouldn’t have wanted to (deal Henry),” Wallace said. “But we’re not in a perfect world. Our team last year showed we can handle an injury on the perimeter. Where we’re most vulnerable is at power forward and center. We’re down two key players and scorers.”

Randolph went down a couple of weeks after his backup, Darrell Arthur, was ruled out for the season with an Achilles injury. The Griz had been pursuing Speights since Arthur was hurt during training camp.

Griz brass began this season believing they needed more frontcourt depth with only Randolph, Arthur and center Marc Gasol under contract. The hope now is that Speights can use his athleticism, rebounding and scoring ability to help compensate for the Grizzlies’ sudden void in frontcourt scoring.

“He has a lot of talent,” Gasol said. “He has a soft touch and a nice little hook. He can play. He’s big, and I think he can help us.”

Speights is in his fourth season after the Sixers selected him out of Florida with the 16th pick in 2007. But Speights has never averaged more than 16.4 minutes in the NBA. He has not played this season.

“He’ll space the floor,” Griz forward Rudy Gay said. “He’s athletic but he limits his game because he shoots too many jumpers. He’s big and physical. He can score down low.”

Griz coach Lionel Hollins said he isn’t sure how he’ll use Speights. Whilethe big man is versatile, with the ability to play power forward and center, critics question Speights’ motivation.

Speights is expected to be in uniform Friday when the Griz play at Utah.

“Marreese is a guy that’s talented. He’s had some moments in the NBA,” Wallace said. “He fell out of the rotation in Philadelphia. But we’re hoping this can be a perfect marriage. We need him, and he needs us.”

The Griz took on more salary to acquire Speights, who will earn $2.7 million this season. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer. Henry will make $2.1 million, and New Orleans must now decide whether to pick up his third-year rookie option by Jan. 25.

Henry has not played this season because of an ankle sprain. His rookie campaign was curtailed by knee soreness.

The Chicago Bulls could do no wrong Sunday in their season debut at the United Center, crushing the Memphis Grizzlies in a lopsided, 104-64 affair to open the New Year with a bang and send a simple message to visitors: This is our house, baby.

While there are plenty of positives from which to choose, the story of the night was the Bulls’ suffocating defense. It was, in a word, brutal: The Grizzlies managed just 12 first quarter points, and shortly before the end of the third quarter, were shooting 23 percent from the field with twice as many turnovers (12) as assists (6). Yikes.

On the other end of the floor, the Bulls were led by Carlos Boozer and Ronnie Brewer.

Boozer played like a man possessed: He double-doubled before halftime and finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in just 24 minutes of action. He showed some of the explosiveness he’s recently lacked, and even made some decent defensive plays. He’s now averaging 15.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per 36, which is close to what the Bulls want, need and expect from their $70 million man.

Brewer, however, gets player of the game accolades. Starting for the sidelined Rip Hamilton (sore groin), Ronnie had 17 points (the most he’s ever had with the Bulls) with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Brewer was, well, vintage Brewer: Always around the ball making something good happen.

Overall, the Bulls’ offense was good but never great, which may sound strange for a 40-point win. They overcame a slow start shooting by sharing the ball (24 assists), using the fast break (33 points) and dominating the paint (+20). The Bulls have now averaged 108.7 ppg the past three games, and are averaging 101 ppg on the season, good for sixth best in the league (bet you didn’t expect that).

Not only did the Bulls get the win, they got it while getting a chance to rest their starters. Only two starters – Luol Deng and Brewer – played more than 30 minutes, as the Bench Mob closed out the game.

A win is a win, who cares if the Grizzlies were missing a couple of players, but this was a win at home, and a rather convincing one at that. The Bulls were a league-best 36-5 at home last season, and absolutely must win home games during this short NBA season.

Winning your home opener by 40 is a good way to get started.

Notes: The Bulls are 4-0 in home openers during the Derrick Rose era….. The +/-’s from last night’s game were utterly ridiculous. Brewer was +48, no other starter was less than +35….. Brewer is 4-for-4 on three’s this year; he made just six all of last season on 22 percent shooting….. Deng has held Rudy Gay, a career 18 ppg scorer, to 14 points on 3-of-22 shooting the last two times he played against the Bulls….. The win moved the Bulls to 4-1 for the franchise’s best start since 1996-97, when…well, you know….. The Bulls last played on New Year’s Day in 2005; Eddy Curry had 22 points in a 105-90 win over the Orlando Magic….. The Miami Heat may be 5-0, but the teams they’ve so far played are a combined 4-10.

Sources: Boozer leads Bulls past Grizzlies 104-64, Associated Press/Yahoo! Sports; Memphis Grizzlies at Chicago Bulls recap & box score, ESPN.com; Bulls win 40-point laugher in home opener, Chicago Tribune;

Other Articles By This Contributor:

Chalk One Up for Chicago Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau (December 31)

Bulls, Heat Will Meet in Eastern Conference Finals: Fan Forecast (December 23)

Top 10 Moments of Chicago Bulls’ 2010-11 Season (December 22)

YCN featured sports contributor Steve Merritt is – for better or worse – a lifelong Chicago Bulls, Bears and Cubs fan. He’s followed the Bulls since 1969, when he tuned in after bedtime on a cheap dime store radio tucked under his pillow.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Zach Randolph scored 23 points, Marc Gasol added 20, and the Memphis Grizzlies earned their first victory of the season, beating the Houston Rockets 113-93 on Friday night.

Randolph shot 11 of 14 and grabbed nine rebounds. Gasol and Rudy Gay, who finished with 10 points, each had eight boards as Memphis outrebounded the Rockets 42-33.

Six Grizzlies finished in double figures, including Jeremy Pargo’s 14 and 13 by Quincy Pondexter.

Kevin Martin led the Rockets with 21 points, while Kyle Lowry had 15 points and eight assists. Rookie Chandler Parsons scored 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, all in the fourth quarter.

Memphis shot 56 percent and forced 20 Houston turnovers. The Grizzlies put away the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Rockets 31-16.

Memphis opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run for a double-digit lead and eventually carried a 57-51 lead into the locker room, shooting 56 percent.

Randolph had 15 in the half, while Gasol scored 13. Martin had 19 points at the break for the Rockets and Lowry contributed 13, going a combined 10 of 16 from the field.

Memphis extended its lead by opening the second half with an 18-7 run, claiming a 75-58 margin just past the midway point of the third period.

The Grizzlies continued to pour on the offense, fueled by defense. The Rockets were 6 of 20 in the quarter, leading to Memphis outscoring Houston 31-16, giving the Grizzlies an 88-67 lead entering the fourth.

Houston made a small dent in the advantage as Parsons began hitting, scoring all his points in the fourth quarter. He was 5 of 9 from the field, connecting on all three of his shots outside the arc.

But even with a rally behind the rookie, the Rockets never really threatened.

NOTES: Hasheem Thabeet, drafted by the Grizzlies with the No. 2 overall pick in 2009, returned to the FedExForum for the first time since he was traded to the Rockets last February. He was on the inactive list for Friday’s game. .Rockets coach Kevin McHale said fast-paced teams seem to be dominating the early games in the league, partially because of the short training camp. “Open court, free-flowing basketball is pretty instinctual to most of the NBA players,” McHale said before the game. “You don’t have to have as much structure in that as you do when you get sets. .A lot of things happen in those five-man sets with 14 seconds on the shot clock that are not good right now in the NBA.” .Patrick Patterson, in his second season out of Kentucky, saw his first action of the season after being inactive for the first two games with a right ankle injury. .Grizzlies starting point guard Mike Conley did not dress for the game, still suffering from a left ankle injury suffered in the opening minutes of Memphis’ Wednesday night loss to Oklahoma City.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By Tom Ziller

– NBA Editor

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Dec 27, 2011 – The San Antonio Spurs began their season avenging their last losses of the 2010-11 season, taking down the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 95-82. Memphis’ offense was awful — that should go without saying, given the point total — with the Grizzlies coughing up 24 turnovers in 96 possessions and hitting just three three-pointers (the latter of which is fairly normal for this club). The turnover problem was widespread. Six Grizzlies, including all five starters, had at least three turnovers in the game. Excepting Marc Gasol (5-6), the Grizzlies’ starting five, usually the bedrock of this team, shot 16-40 from the floor.

San Antonio got a vintage performance from Manu Ginobili, who struggled with injury during last April’s playoff series between these teams. Manu scored 24 points on 7-15 shooting. San Antonio only turned the ball over 13 times, essentially giving the Spurs 11 extra shooting possessions. It’s difficult to lose when you have so many additional opportunities to get the ball up.

For more on the Spurs, visit Pounding The Rock. For more on the Grizzlies, visit Straight Outta Vancouver.

Read More: Manu Ginobili (G – SAN), Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies at San Antonio Spurs, Dec 26, 2011 8:30 PM EST

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One just has to look back to early May 2011 to see how deep the rivalry goes between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies. The Western Conference semifinals went seven games with the Thunder advancing past the surprise eighth seed. The Grizzlies defeated the top team in the NBA when they outlasted the San Antonio Spurs in last season’s playoffs.

OKC comes into the game Dec. 28 undefeated at 2-0 after wins over the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Thunder are the best team in the NBA on the young yet delayed season.

Memphis lost its first game of the season in a revenge match with the Spurs. Tim Duncan and company won by a score of 95-82 on Dec. 26. Memphis hasn’t won an opening day game since 2001.

The playoff series last year was one of the best in NBA history. The Grizzlies had just upset the top seed in the Western Conference. Memphis won the first game 114-101 before OKC came back. Game 4 was a triple overtime thriller 133-123. Oklahoma City eventually won Game 7 by 15 points to advance to the Western Conference finals.

Kevin Durant was unstoppable in the series. Russell Westbrook had a triple-double in the final game. Bench players like Serge Ibaka and James Harden stepped up big to help win the day.

The shortened NBA season would seem to favor younger NBA teams in better shape. The Thunder have certainly proven they are one of the best teams in the Western Conference with their young guns. Memphis will rely on cagey veterans Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.

A win against Memphis will propel OKC to a third straight victory to open the season. The Thunder last started a season with three wins way back in 2002 as the Seattle Supersonics. That team began the year 4-0. The Thunder are off to their best start in 10 seasons.

The key to the game will be players off the bench. Oklahoma City has to control the ball better and cut down on turnovers if they are going to keep winning. Memphis will have to win to avoid going in the hole 0-2.

William Browning is a fan of the Oklahoma City Thunder ever since the team relocated from Seattle. As the closest NBA team to Branson, Mo., the Thunder serve as the regional team for southwest Missouri.

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