Grizzlies dump coach after skid
Benching Gasol possible cause for firing
The Memphis Grizzlies fired coach David Fizdale on Monday, with the team at 712 and a day after he benched center Marc Gasol for the fourth quarter of an eighth consecutive loss.
General manager Chris Wallace announced the move. Associate head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been named interim head coach.
“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,” Wallace said in a statement.
The move caught the NBA by surprise. Dwyane Wade, who played with the Miami Heat when Fizdale was an assistant coach, wrote on Twitter that he needed answers. LeBron James retweeted a comment on Twitter calling the firing so stunning that the writer triple-checked the original ESPN report to make sure he wasn’t being duped by a fake account.
“I need some answers. Feels like my man was a fall guy,” James wrote.
Fizdale became the franchise’s 13th head coach May 29, 2016, and went 50-51.
The Grizzlies reached the postseason for a seventh time in a row in Fizdale’s first season, when they lost to the San Antonio Spurs. Fizdale was fined $30,000 by the NBA for a rant over officiating after a loss in Game 2.
Memphis let Zach Randolph, Vince Carter and Tony Allen all leave as free agents and signed Ben McLemore, Tyreke Evans and Mario Chalmers to retool the roster around Gasol and point guard Mike Conley and give Fizdale a faster lineup.
The moves appeared to be working when Memphis started this season an NBAbest 5-1. The Grizzlies stood atop the Western Conference with a win over the Golden State Warriors and twoover Southwest Division rival Houston.
But Conley has been out since Nov. 17, resting an aching left Achilles tendon. The team lost its eighth in a row Sunday, 98-88 to the Nets, matching the longest skid for this franchise since Feb. 11-March 3, 2009. Fizdale kept Gasol on the bench for the fourth quarter, and the center made his unhappiness clear after the game.
“It’s a first for me, trust me, and I don’t like it one bit,” said Gasol, who leads Memphis in points, rebounds and assists. “I’m more [ticked] than I can show and frustrated.”
Warriors
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant missed Monday’s game against Sacramento because of injuries, and key backup Andre Iguodala was doubtful with a sore left knee. Curry has a bruised right hand; NBA Finals MVP Durant missed his third consecutive game and fourth game in the past five because of a sprained left ankle. “No one can make up for what those two do individually, so we have to do it with nine or 10 guys,” fellow AllStar Klay Thompson said after Monday morning’s shootaround.
Curry is averaging a team-leading 26 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds and Durant, 24.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.06 blocked shots. On Friday, the Warriors beat Chicago at home 143-94 with Durant out and Draymond Green resting.