Another one bites the dust

The Memphis Grizzlies started strong when the season opened but with an Achilles injury to star guard Mike Conley, they recently fell to the Brooklyn Nets for their 8th straight loss. That loss became controversial when their franchise player Marc Gasol was benched in the fourth quarter.

Here comes Memphis GM Chris Wallace with this statement, “After a thorough evaluation, I decided a change in course was necessary to move forward and provide the team and organization its best chance at success this season and beyond.” And after a few obligatory well wishes and other related crap, they kicked 2nd year coach David Fizdale out of Memphis.

Was it coincidence that after Gasol was benched they shipped Fizdale out? Conley and Gasol had been the faces of the Grizzlies for a long time and there could be a relation on Fizdale’s firing. Sources close to the team say that there already was conflict between the two for quite a while. Fizdale and Gasol reportedly were not in good terms and even had some confrontations during practices.

Conley probably had gotten along well with Fizdale as he had been very productive prior to his injury. He even praised his coaching style because he had posted his career best in Fizdale’s system. But things had been opposite in the case of Gasol.

It’s time for the Grizzlies to choose who to say goodbye to and the choice was simple. Memphis couldn’t find another big man of Gasol’s talent in the immediate future. On the other hand, there are a good number of capable coaches who need jobs in the NBA. Coaches are much more dispensable commodity than franchise players.

Fizdale had been one of the more capable assistant coaches prior to being hired to a head coaching position and had been assistant to Miami and Atlanta prior to the Memphis job. He brought the Grizzlies to the 7th spot in last year’s playoffs and forced San Antonio to a six-game series.

Memphis sits at 12 in the Western Conference with a 7-12 win-loss record. They sit above Phoenix, Sacramento and Dallas. Since the Suns already fired their coach a few games into the season, will the Kings and the Mavericks give the pink slips to Dave Joerger and Rick Carlisle?

Atlanta and Chicago are swimming in mud and the survival of coaches Mike Budenholzer and Fred Hoiberg are also in peril.

Sitting as interim head coach for Memphis for the second time in his career is JB Bickerstaff. He was Houston’s OIC when the Rockets fired Kevin McHale.