NBA curious about Grizzlies' hot start
As the Grizzlies bullied their way to first place in the Western Conference standings this week, a trail of curiosity followed.
In an NBA where teams score an average of 14.3 more points per game than they did seven seasons when the Grizzlies solidified a "grit and grind" defensive style with Tony Allen and coach Lionel Hollins, inquiring minds want to know.
How have they successfully replicated that style through 20 percent of a season in today's up-tempo, 3-pointer happy league?
Entering Friday's game against the Clippers, Memphis ranked third in defensive rating and last in offensive pace while sporting a 12-5 record.
Here is a sampling of the questions that Grizzlies players and coach J.B. Bickerstaff have been asked over the past week during media interviews:
Sunday at Minnesota (Grizzlies won 100-87)
At 1 p.m. in a hallway outside the visitors locker room, Bickerstaff answered questions before his team played a Timberwolves team on a three-game winning streak.
Reporter: "Big picture question, from the outside looking in, do you guys feel like you've gotten back to oldschool, Memphis defense? Wasn't the case last year. Is it simply because this team is healthy? Or is there more to it schematically?"
Bickerstaff: "Obviously, being healthy has a huge impact on what we do. But it was a conscious decision we made to play this style of basketball. We keep looking around the league and everybody is trying to play the same way. Everybody wants to run, everybody wants to shoot threes. So as a coaching staff we sat down and tried to figure out a way we can be unique...I think some teams, they struggle when the game is slowed down, because they are so used to playing at a certain pace. Every night you prepare for a team, they're all playing fast. They're all playing the same way and when you come play us, it's kind of like you come to a screeching halt."
After holding Minnesota to its second-lowest point total of the season, Grizzlies players answered questions in the locker room before boarding a plane back to Memphis for a game the next day.
Reporter: Has there been a defensive mentality switch from last year to this season?
Marc Gasol (26 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks):
“Man, we are trying to win. I think the main is goal is we are trying to win. I think last year that wasn’t, per se, the main goal. So I think this year there is no second guessing. The only thing is to win. And the best chance to win is to play that type of defense. There is no other way for us. We don’t
have the firepower to go for 130 points a night. We might be able to score 130 points, but I think what gives us that consistency and trust in one another is that defensive effort.”
Reporter: Does this feel like a return to the old Grizz mentality compared to last year?
JaMychal Green (eight points, eight rebounds, one steal, two blocks):
"I think the fans are starting to see it, starting to see us getting back to our old ways."
Monday vs. Dallas (Grizzlies won 98-88)
In the Mavericks locker room after the game.
Reporter: What were they able to do to hold you guys under 100 points tonight for the first time this season?
Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr.
“That is what Memphis is all about, they have been like that for years. We anticipated that coming in that we have to grind, even though we are short on guys, we’ve got to grind from the first quarter to the end."
The Grizzlies played down the meaning of reaching a tie for first place in the Western Conference standings in the locker room. But they were happy to discuss the style that got them there.
Reporter: Going back to your Western Conference Finals team, the way you guys loved and embrace defense the (former coach) Lionel (Hollins) way, is that similar to what we're seeing now?
Mike Conley: "It's very similar. Very similar. When coach J.B. came in during training camp and was talking about, 'we want to play like those teams of the past, that grit and grind defense, I kind of looked at him and I said, 'you know that's a lot of work and there's a lot of guys not built for that.' I was questioning myself. I was like, 'shoot I don't know if I'm ready for that again. I'm ready for the new NBA.' But he was adamant on coming in and being that team. Guys have bought in to it. It's been a lot of work, a lot of hours in this building trying to figure it out and just committing to it."
Wednesday at San Antonio (Grizzlies won 104-103)
Legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich stood in an empty conference room near his team's locker room and talked with media.
Reporter: Memphis seems to play a style opposite of what everyone is doing nowadays. How are they so successful?
Popovich: “J.B. and his staff and the players are all on the same page. They know their strengths, play to their strengths. Conley and Gasol are their stars, but all the other players fit very well around them and play their roles perfectly. I think that understanding of roles and the leadership they’ve exhibited and the confidence they have in the system shows.”
Reporter: “Is that difficult when you have a style in the NBA – everything is changing with everyone shooting 3pointers and not utilizing the mid-range – Memphis is doing what they do, you do what you do as far as shooting the mid-range. To stay the course...
Popovich: “This is a really long question.”
Reporter: “I understand. I’m getting there. But to stay the course, is that hard when the league is changing?”
Popovich: “It’s like Fox News or MSNBC or CNN talking heads. Asking a question and it takes like three minutes to ask the question. You say ‘where’s the question here? What’s the question?’ It takes forever. You want us to know everything you know first before asking the question. I already forgot the beginning. Have a good night.”
Bickerstaff entertained several questions about his team's style before the game.
Reporter: When they were hiring you to become the head coach, did they want you or talk to you about getting back to that grit and grind style? Is that something you felt like you guys needed to get back to defensively?
Bickerstaff: “No, they didn’t ask me to. But when I was going through the process, looking at our team and more so looking at our fan base and the connection to the city, what those guys created was something unique and something special. So...I thought it was very important that we got back to that. There’s certain organizations like the Pittsburgh Steelers, the cheese heads in Green Bay, where traditions that start are bigger than the group of guys that start them and they carry on for a long, long time. I thought that the grit and grind was a part of that. I don’t know if that was intentional, but when those guys did it, they started a movement. I think it’s special when a city and a team can connect through something.
"Personality, perseverance, hard work, dedication and all those things, that’s the Memphis way.”
Reach David Cobb at david.cobb@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @DavidWCobb.