Not sure if Marreese Speight’s nickname for the bench, Zoo Crew, will catch on. What the coaching staff talks about is the need to get scoring from at least two of the reserves each night. That doesn’t matter on nights like Sunday when Ellington dropped 25 points. But the coaches have gotten their wish in every game but the season-opener.

“I keep saying to do anything special, we have to have our guys come off the bench and do their jobs,” Hollins said. “The bench is better (than in the past) because they can score. They all can make shots. When they do, they can be pretty good.”

The bench is averaging 29.3 points per game. The Griz reserves have beaten their counterparts on average 31.8-26.8 since being outscored 52-17 by the Los Angeles Clippers in the season-opener.

Lost in the scoring is the reserves’ ball-hawking defense and their hustle plays.

via Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal