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Raptors-Grizzlies Preview

Oct 29, 2009 - 7:32 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Toronto (1-0) at Memphis (0-1), 8:00 p.m. EDT

The Memphis Grizzlies are in desperate need of a contribution from Allen Iverson. The Toronto Raptors, though, have shown they can overcome big games from opposing stars.

With Iverson's status still uncertain, the Grizzlies look to bounce back from a poor season opener Friday night in a matchup with a Raptors team coming off a confidence-boosting first win.

Memphis was without Iverson, its big free agent acquisition, against Detroit on Wednesday night and it shot 36.1 percent in a 96-74 loss. It was the largest margin of defeat for the Grizzlies in an opener since they moved to Memphis in 2001.

Iverson is still recovering from a partially torn left hamstring sustained in the preseason. He was initially scheduled to play against the Pistons but has missed practice time and was not game ready.

Iverson averaged a career-low 17.5 points in a combined 57 games for Detroit and Denver last season.

Memphis certainly could have used the four-time NBA scoring champion, getting a combined 12 points from starting guards O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley.

"(Our players) just have to come down to Earth and realize winning in the NBA is very difficult, and it takes a lot of work and effort," coach Lionel Hollins said.

Conley will likely start again if Iverson still can't play.

Toronto withstood a triple-double from LeBron James on Wednesday night, beating Cleveland 101-91.

Andrea Bargnani had an outstanding performance, scoring 28 after signing a $50 million, five-year extension in the offseason. He played with the confidence he showed toward the end of last season, when he averaged 19.8 points and shot 47.1 percent from 3-point range in his final 21 games.

"If Andrea gets it going and is scoring the basketball a lot, then we are going to be tough to beat," said forward Chris Bosh, who added 21 points and 16 rebounds.

Bargnani and Bosh were joined in the frontcourt by Hedo Turkoglu, who had 12 points in his Raptors debut. Turkoglu, who averaged 16.8 points and a career-high 7.0 rebounds for Orlando last season, was acquired in a four-team deal.

He's part of a revamped Toronto team that includes 2009 first-round pick DeMar DeRozan, who had eight points and five rebounds. The swingman, selected ninth overall, joined Damon Stoudamire and Joey Graham as first-round picks to start an opener for the Raptors.

Jose Calderon, DeRozan's backcourt mate, was honored at center court before the game for posting an NBA-record 98.1 free throw percentage last season. He later missed his first two free throws and went 1 for 6 from the field, finishing with five points and 11 assists.

Calderon had a game-high 18 points against Memphis on Feb. 7, but Toronto shot 29.1 percent in a 78-70 loss on the road. The Raptors won the only other meeting between the teams last season 103-82 on Jan. 9.