Fizdale: Slide won’t break us
Grizzlies coach David Fizdale is confident that a season-long, four-game losing streak won’t break them.
Fizdale points to his group of proud veterans and a constructive change in culture as reasons why the Grizzlies will survive their late-season skid.
“The culture is not going to be compromised,” Fizdale said. “That is being put in place for longevity — the way we conduct ourselves, compete and how we are as professionals. That’s a staple. The teams that don’t have a culture will Who: Memphis vs. Atlanta Hawks When, where: 8 p.m., today, FedExForum TV, radio: Fox Sports Southeast; WMFS 92.9 FM/680 AM break in moments like this. The teams that do, they weather this stuff and they’re better on the back side of it. I’m expecting this team to be better on the back side of this.”
Fizdale oversaw a lengthy film session Friday morning after the Grizzlies suffered a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Clippers the night before. There was a players-only meeting on Monday after an embarrassing loss to the NBAworst Brooklyn Nets.
Memphis dropped to seventh place in the Western Conference playoff standings. Moving up to fourth to gain home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason seems like a long shot. The Grizzlies are five games behind the fourth-place Utah Jazz.
“We’re in a tough spot. It seems like whatever could go wrong is going wrong for us,” Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley said. “But we have to find a way to not get more individual and rely on our teammate and our coaches.”
Memphis continues to struggle mightily on defense. The Grizzlies have a defensive rating of 113.4 (29th in the NBA) over the past 10 games. Their net rating of -6.2 ranks 25th in the league during that span.
“It’s past talking and about action,” Conley said. “We got a lot accomplished during the film session and were able to attack different areas that we’re bad at.”
Fizdale shuffled the starting lineup Monday and said he could make more tweaks Saturday when the Atlanta Hawks visit FedExForum. Memphis is 14-15 since Jan. 1.
“I actually liked our start the other night. The starting group really got us off to a solid start,” Fizdale said. “But I don’t know if the rest of the rotation fell in line with it. … We’re talking about (changes) as a group. Obviously, it’s my final decision, but these guys are with me so I’m not concerned about hurting egos. These guys just want to find the best solution for our group.
“I continue to stress to our team and anybody who questions what we’re trying to accomplish: The old way will get us mediocre results. I’m not guaranteeing that what I’m doing is going to get us better results. I just know that (the other) way is not going to get it done.
Tip-ins
Forward Chandler Parsons is expected to play against the Hawks after missing the last game with a sore left knee. … The Grizzlies assigned rookie forward/center Deyonta Davis to their NBA Development League affiliate, Iowa Energy. The Energy play home games Sunday and Monday.
Reach Tillery at Ronald.Tillery@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @CAGrizBeat