"After the Grizzlies' road loss against the Los Angeles Clippers became official Thursday, Sam Young did what's become a regular routine this season.

He was the first to clean up and exit the locker room. Young didn't linger. The third-year forward didn't play. Young is out of the team's regular rotation and buried on the end of the bench -- a development that is curious to him and Grizzlies fans.

"I guess coach has new guys and he's trying to see what they've got," Young said, referring to Griz coach Lionel Hollins. "I'm being sacrificed for it, but it's part of the game, part of the business."

Young's response is exactly the professional attitude Hollins expects from his players. Sometimes injuries determine the rotation but most times it's simply the coach's prerogative. Hollins prefers to use swingman Quincy Pondexter over Young, believing that Pondexter is a better defender and rebounder, and an adequate scorer behind starting small forward Rudy Gay.

That means Young has mostly accumulated 10.8 minutes per game during mop-up duty.

But the Grizzlies have lost two straight games going into their meeting tonight with the Phoenix Suns. The last time the Griz lost consecutive games, Hollins flipped the backup point guard spot, with Josh Selby supplanting Jeremy Pargo.

Another change could be in order with the need for more scoring punch in reserve. Memphis' bench hasn't had a player other than O.J. Mayo with double-digit scoring in the past nine games."