Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni conducted a long practice Wednesday when the team spent a considerable amount of time watching video of their foibles from a 102-99 preseason loss against Unicaja Malaga.

The film drew mixed reviews. Iavaroni chose to dwell on the defensive spurts as a major positive.

“I was encouraged by the defensive energy off the bench in the second half,” Iavaroni said. “Kyle (Lowry) got everybody into it. We started denying the low post. They had to go to other options. I was encouraged by our full-court pressure. That turned the game around.”

Sneak Preview

Damon Stoudamire, Hakim Warrick and Stromile Swift chat before the Grizzlies’ workout began.

Video Postcard
Damon Stoudamire talks about the meltdown in Malaga and previews Wednesday’s practice.

NBA Cares
In this position, you try hard not to become part of the stories you cover. I couldn’t help that Wednesday for one good reason: The Grizzlies’ long practice prevented Mike Miller, Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley from helping the Toronto Raptors and adidas dedicate a refurbished basketball court at a school, Ciudad de Jaen, in Madrid. Raptors players and TNT’s Kenny Smith spoke and hosted a basketball skills clinic for the students.

I arrived with NBA personnel long before the event began, and I must say it was a thrilling experience. We tend to mock the NBA’s “Read to Achieve” initiative and NBA Cares seems like fluff. Think that no more.

Having been involved first-hand with how the NBA affects the world with its basketball and community efforts, I’m forever changed. We visited a depressed area of Madrid. These kids come from low-income families. It’s an area with a lot of drugs and drug dealers. There’s a high immigrant population, which promotes the practice of girls dropping out of school to marry at 14.

There is no doubt that the NBA inspired these young people. They knew tons about basketball and their excitement over having the NBA visit was immeasurable. It was two hours those kids will never forget.

They certainly benefited from the experience and I did, too.

This young lady, Sandy, is 17 years old and has excellent ball-handling and shooting ability. She plays for the school, and hopes to play professionally someday. Sandy, who is confident as you can see, approached me and promptly challenged me to a game. What can I say? I’m competitive so I showed no mercy despite begging for oxygen afterwards.

NBA Cares is the league’s social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA’s long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. Through this umbrella program, the NBA, its teams and players have committed to donating $100 million to charity, providing a million hours of hands on service to the community and creating 250 places where kids and families can live, learn or play.

Postcards competition
The Grizzlies’ video postcards have received more than 3,100 views as tabulated by YouTube. It’s been an interesting competition so far in terms of where players rank in popularity.
As of noon Wednesday, here is how the top five looked:
1. Hakim Warrick, 723
2. Mike Conley, 598
3. Pau Gasol, 488
4. Mike Miller, 295
5. Brian Cardinal, 190
*Interestingly enough, a short clip of the Griz exiting a bus at the arena received 192 views. Warrick and Gasol also carry 5-star ratings.

Quotable
“They’re young but better. You don’t want to be young and inexperienced and have no talent. That’s a deadly combination. Right now, I think they’re young and talented. The lack of experience make hurt in certain areas. Having Damon back helps because that’s a strong position. And if Darko (Milicic) can continue on the progression that he had in Orlando, then that will be a good pickup. I see they’ve got a lot of shooters now. They’ve got pieces. They’re just inexperienced together.” -– TNT analyst and former NBA guard Kenny Smith on the Grizzlies

Quotable II
“It’s been an experience for me playing in Europe. I’ve had a chance to come over here and prove a lot. I’ve improved the last couple of years, and that’s what I’ve been trying to show everybody.” -– Former NBA and Tennessee forward Marcus Haslip on getting back into the NBA