John Lucas III and company got steamrolled in the second.

The Rockets let a 21-point lead slip away as they turned to their reserves exclusively in the second half, falling to the visiting Grizzlies 75-69 Tuesday night in their preseason opener.

Both Bonzi Wells and Yao Ming sat out the action, as did Pau Gasol and Stromile Swift for the Grizzlies. Given that it's preseason, the loss obviously meant nothing, and there were plenty of bright spots on this night, in particular how strong the Rockets top five looked early on.

The Rockets were sharp, aggressive and looked like a much more athletic team right out of the gate. Bottom line: They way outhustled their opponent. They jumped out to leads of 12-0, 18-2 and 24-7 and led by as many as 21 points at one point.

McGrady looked to be in 2004 form rather than the nightmare we saw last season. He was fast, aggressive, made some great passes and hit some tough shots, ultimately finishing with 17 points and 5 dimes in just 18 minutes of play. He even fell to the floor after taking a shot from the defender, and looked fine getting back up.

Shane Battier also was impressive in his Rocket debut, scoring 8 points, 7 boards and a pair of steals. His defense looks good -- on one play he came over blind-side and swiped the ball right out of a Memphis' player's hands.

You also got a good idea of why McGrady likes the shooting ability of Steve Novak. Novak got the fans fired up when he drained his first two triple attempts and finished with 12 points in 22 minutes of play off the bench. You hate to make any early predictions, especially after Mirsad Turkcan, Dan Langhi and Bostjan Nachbar, but maybe -- just maybe -- the Rockets finally nailed the shooter pick.

Chuck Hayes grabbed 10 boards in 25 minutes and seemed to thrive receiving passes underneath as he cut to the basket baseline. He missed a couple of gimme layups though.

Vassilis Spanoulis was 0-4 from long range and was a turnover waiting to happen on this night, but his 5 cough-ups (2 or 3 on travelling) didn't tell the whole story. His nonstop motor and defensive intensity are going to be welcome additions to this club. I was also real impressed with his ability to find the open man and he made some sweet passes on the pick and roll as well. He will have to stop shuffling his feet before he makes a move (a call that the refs nailed him on every time), but I definitely see potential here.

As for weaknesses, John Lucas III had a rough night shooting the ball, going 2-10 from the field. Kelenna Azubuike played just 11 minutes but played about as poorly as possible, going 0-3 with 3 turnovers, in his attempt to make the squad.

Rockets draft pick Rudy Gay, who was traded to Memphis in the Battier deal, shot the ball more than twice as many times as any other Grizzlie, going 5-18 from the field in 34 minutes. He did pick 3 steals and showed flashes of his athletic talent, but tonight wasn't his night.