Fizdale defends his lineup shake-up
Grizzlies coach David Fizdale wasn’t angry, just passionate about his coaching conviction.
The first-year head coach came across Wednesday as he has all season: calm and matter-of-factly while defending his surprising yet inspired changes to the starting lineup.
Outsiders spent the past two days questioning Fizdale’s decision to replace Tony Allen and JaMychal Green with Andrew Harrison and Brandan Wright in the first unit during a demeaning loss to the hapless Brooklyn Nets. Fizdale, however, expressed conviction about his decision and said his lineup will remain the same Thursday when the Grizzlies try to snap a threegame losing streak while hosting the Los Angeles Clippers. Who: Memphis vs. Los Angeles Clippers When, where: 7 p.m., Today, FedExForum TV, radio: Fox Sports Southeast; WMFS 92.9 FM/680 AM
An unabashed Fizdale cited the Grizzlies’ 14-14 record since Jan. 1 for the shakeup.
“What am I supposed to do? Settle for mediocrity and stay in a .500 mode and not do anything and just be OK with that?” Fizdale said. “That’s the problem with the whole image of this group. That’s been OK and if we’re underdogs and we don’t win it, that’s OK. No. I won’t settle for that. I’ll continue to shuffle until I find something that works best that gives us the best chance at holding the trophy. And if
people don’t like it, they can kiss my (butt).”
Fizdale’s comments ended with an expletive to firmly make his point. He’s been concerned about the Grizzlies’ inability to keep up with the speed of today’s NBA. The Grizzlies’ routinely get beat off the dribble on the perimeter and struggled with pick-and-roll defensive coverage. Brooklyn scored 122 points. “You work with what you have. I’m not going to keep shuffling. I have some specific things I want to look at,” Fizdale said. “I’m hoping that in the next six games or so we can settle into our rotation with 13 or 14 games of playing with that group. If we can grab home court (for the playoffs), that’s what we want. But the most important thing we can do is get the best team on the floor possible going into the playoffs and give ourselves the best chance to win. It doesn’t matter if you have home court if you’re playing the wrong groups. And we wouldn’t get home court if we keep playing the wrong groups.”
Memphis remains four games behind Utah for fourth place and securing home court in the first round of the postseason. The Grizzlies’ game against the fifth-place Clippers is important because 21⁄2 games separate the teams.
“Whatever (Coach Fizdale) does is in a light of trying to win a championship,” Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley said about the lineup changes. “You can’t knock his agenda.”
So how does Allen feel about the situation?
“I’ve got a new role. It’s nothing I’m not used to,” Allen said. “I’ve been here before. I’m just ready to win ballgames. … I’m cool. Nobody died. I’m still the Grindfather.”
Fizdale is embracing the role of strategist as a former video coordinator-turned-highly sought after coach. So far, the moves Fizdale’s made have allowed the Grizzlies to overachieve in a challenging season filled with injuries.
“I wanted to see what playmaking looks like with a roller (in Wright) and space,” Fizdale said. “I’m looking at how that second unit functions from a defensive standpoint around Zach Randolph by adding Tony Allen and JaMychal into that group. Most teams go small in the second unit and this will help us match up better. We’re going to evaluate it. And if for some reason that doesn’t click, you better believe I’ll be shifting it again.”
Reach Tillery at Ronald.Tillery@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @CAGrizBeat