NBA pre-season match turns into Grizzlies love-in
Sellout crowd fills Rogers Arena to watch Mavericks blow out Kawhi’s Clippers
Kawhi Leonard led the Los Angeles Clippers onto the court at Rogers Arena, the cheers reaching the deafening levels befitting a player who brought the first NBA Championship north of the border.
What if, mused Trevor Jones, there was still an NBA team in Vancouver? What would have happened? “If the Grizzlies were still in Vancouver, they would have had the championship before the Raptors,” he said Thursday night before the Clippers fell 102-87 to the Dallas Mavericks in the pre-season finale for both teams.
“We had great talent. We had a better mascot,” he added, laughing. “But just the vibe, the energy. We’re winners here on the West Coast. It’s just what we do.”
You can forgive the 49-year-old a little nostalgia. Two decades ago, it was him throwing down the dunks in the former GM Place.
Few recognized him then, and even fewer do now, since he spent most of the time covered in faux fur as ‘Super Grizz.’ The former mascot, now a stuntman and co-ordinator in the film industry, was part of Thursday’s pre-game rally to bring the NBA back to Vancouver. Led by filmmaker Kay Jayme, the two first touched base with when she interviewed him for her film, Finding Big Country two years ago, and they’ve stayed in contact since then.
“I went to the premiere and was blown away with what she created,” he said. “It really just ignited old feelings and old memories.”
Those resurgent memories were percolating Thursday as he mingled with fans clad in the teal old-school Grizzlies jerseys outside the arena ahead of the game. Despite the heavy November Vancouver rain, there were still a few dozen fans mingling around the north entrance, holding signs like “Grizzlies are indigenous to Vancouver.”
The turnout of devotees — there was a sellout crowd of 17,204 in attendance — didn’t shock Jones.
“Not only does it not surprise me, but I was told that there is more Grizzlies paraphernalia sold today than there was 20 years ago. It’s really impressive to think that we made that much of an imprint. We all grew up watching the NBA, and all of a sudden, it was here at our fingertips. I feel like Vancouver is a part of the NBA, like Vancouver is the NBA. So for the crowd and fans to come out here … there’s passion.”
The Memphis Grizzlies have rebadged themselves this year, rolling out the old-school uniform and logo to celebrate their 25th season. It didn’t go over well with Vancouver fans, and it didn’t resonate with the former mascot, either.
“I don’t know much about Memphis, but when I think about Memphis, I don’t think about basketball,” he said. “The Grizzlies are Vancouver. ‘Memphis Grizzlies’ doesn’t even sound cool compared to the Vancouver Grizzlies.”
The chances of the NBA coming back to Vancouver are still remote — at least for now — with Seattle ahead in terms of a possible expansion franchise. The team would need an arena, and the owners of the only suitable one — the Aquilini family — poured cold water on the idea earlier this week.
The appetite is there; the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA title last season has raised the game’s profile once again, and Rogers Arena was just a few seats away from a shutout for Thursday’s game, but the high cost — now approaching US$2 billion — puts it out of reach of most prospective owners locally.
That didn’t stop the capacity crowd from chanting “We want the Grizzlies!” twice during the fourth quarter.
The Mavs jumped out to a 29-6 lead in the game, their advantage dwindling to just 10 in the fourth before they walked away for an easy win. Leonard had an off-night, going just 2-for-13 in the first two quarters before finishing 5-of-19 for 13 points for the Clippers, who played without Paul George, Lou Williams and Patrick Beverly. Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis paced Dallas with 18 and 15 points, with both grabbing 13 rebounds.
The intensity was high for a pre-season game, with Doncic and L.A.’s Terance Mann getting into it late in the third quarter. The two players were both assessed technicals after a shoving match sparked after Mann slapped the ball from Doncic’s hands.