Takeaways from Memphis’ 16-point win over New Orleans

Memphis improved to 3-4 with an 86-70 win over New Orleans, and it was never really that close. The Tigers scored early and often and led by 25 points with 14:51 left in the game before putting the game in cruise control and letting the Privateers cut into their lead.

Penny Hardaway unveiled a new starting lineup Wednesday night and decided to start Dug McDaniel, Julius Thedford, Hasan Abdul Hakim, William Whorton and Simon Majok. It was the first start for both Abdul Hakim – who appeared in his first game a week ago – and Whorton, and three of the five starters played 25 or more minutes.

As a team, the Tigers shot 49.3 percent from the field, 40 percent from deep and 71.4 percent from the free-throw line, and they scored 44 points off the bench. Quante Berry led the team in scoring, and he finished the game with 17 points – including 7-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from deep.

Defensively, Memphis held New Orleans to only 28 points in the first half, and the Privateers couldn’t get anything going. For the game, they shot 39.3 percent from the field and 28 percent from deep.

Here are some takeaways from the Tigers’ win over New Orleans:

Tigers score in bunches

One of the biggest questions entering Wednesday’s game was who could step up as another consistent shooting option outside of McDaniel, and several players showed they could be the answer. Six players finished in double figures, and three starters ended the night with 10 or more points.

Thedford hit the ground running against the Privateers – scoring the first five points of the game – and he led the team with 13 points before he left the game with an injury. The sophomore – who missed most of his freshman season with an injury – never returned to the game, but he was the most dynamic scoring option in his 10 minutes on the court.

Berry led the team with 17 points in 19 minutes off the bench, which ties his season-high from the first game of the season. Since the season opener against San Francisco, Berry hadn’t scored more than eight points in a game until Wednesday night, but he has shot 75 percent or better in the last two games. 

Berry has the qualities to be a top scorer for Memphis, and if he finds more consistency, he’ll play a massive role for the Tigers this season.

Penny sends a message

Two notable omissions to the starting lineup were Aaron Bradshaw and Thierno Sylla, and after the game, Hardaway called it a coach’s decision. Bradshaw has been in and out of the starting five all season, but Sylla started every game he appeared in before Wednesday night. 

Sylla didn’t appear at all in the first half, and he only checked in for 1:51 in the second half. In that extremely small stretch, Sylla did grab a rebound.

This season, the big man is averaging 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game. 

While Sylla got a quick spurt, Bradshaw didn’t play at all against New Orleans. There was some speculation that Bradshaw could be dealing with an injury, but after the game, Hardaway called it a coach’s decision. Bradshaw has struggled to start the season, and he’s only averaging six points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

It’s unclear what led to Hardaway sitting both Sylla and Bradshaw, but it seems pretty obvious that he was sending a message to his bigs. The question now will be how his players respond to not seeing much playing time against the Privateers.

Injuries play a role

It was announced before the game that Curtis Givens III and Ashton Hardaway would both miss the game with injures, and Thedford joined the two with an injury during the game.

Givens suffered a thigh bruise in the final game in the Bahamas, and he’s now missed back-to-back games with the injury. Hardaway compared the injury to the one that kept Abdul Hakim out for most of the preseason and first five games of the year, and it’s unclear when Givens will be able to return.

It was revealed during the pregame show that Ashton Hardaway would not play with a knee injury, and it’s unclear if he or Thedford will be available Saturday against Baylor.