J-Speaks: Tough Minded Grizzlies

While there are many things that can curtail a team’s success in any season, the one big thing is injuries especially injuries to key players on that team. The Memphis Grizzlies experienced this a season ago with a total of 301 total games due to injury or illness. Even though the Grizzlies made the playoffs as the No. 7 Seed with a 42-40 record, they were swept 4-0 by the San Antonio Spurs in the opening round of the postseason. This season, the injury bug has hit the team hard again, the Grizzlies have continued to win with some new cards in the shuffle.

Back on Nov. 28, the Grizzlies (16-8) lost to the Charlotte Hornets (14-9) 104-85. Not only did they lose the game, they lost starting lead guard Mike Conley who sustained an injury to his lower back in the third quarter.

Just 24 hours later it was revealed by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon that Conley, who signed a five-year $153 million contract to remain with the team in the off-season sustained transverse fractures in the vertebrae of his lower back that will keep him out of action for a while. It is expected that he will miss six weeks, but will be re-evaluated in four.

Conley, who averaging career-high of 19.2 points along with 5.7 assists per contest joined the Grizzlies other highly paid signing Chandler Parsons at four-years $94 million, who has only played in six games this season because of left knee soreness. Veteran forward Zach Randolph, who missed the previous seven games as he dealt with the passing of his mother Mae on Thanksgiving Day. Three other key players for the team who have been on the mend because of injury are forward James Ennis due to a right calf injury; forward/center Brandan Wright, who has yet to play this season because of an injured left ankle and veteran Vince Carter has missed the last six games because of an injured hip.

After another defeat at the Toronto Raptors 120-105 48 hours later after learning that Conley would be out for a while, the Grizzlies grinded their way to a 95-94 win versus the Orlando Magic (10-14) back on the first of this month.

Center Marc Gasol led the way with 25 points, including two free throws in the final seconds that completed a 14-point comeback and was part of a 30-26 fourth quarter by the home team. Second-year guard Andrew Harrison, who spend much of his rookie season in the D-League had 11 points and eight assists as he started for the second straight game in Conley. This was on the heels of a career-high 21 points to go along with three steals in the loss to the Raptors.

That started a five-game winning streak from the Dec. 1 to Dec. 8 where they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers (10-15) 103-100; the New Orleans Pelicans (7-16) in double-overtime 110-108; the Philadelphia 76ers (5-18) 96-91 and their latest victory versus the Portland Trail Blazers (12-12) (88-86).

While they have played against the best competition in the NBA, the fact that the Grizzlies have not fallen to the floor with the injuries has shown that the player who are getting an opportunity to play are showing up and showing off how good they are.

As mentioned earlier, Harrison has stepped in the lead guard spot of the Grizzlies’ starting quintet and played stellar. So, has third-year guard out of Virginia Commonwealth University and new addition in the off-season and Harrison’s understudy Troy Daniels, who scored a career-high 31 points going 12 for 23 from the field, including 6 for 12 from three-point range in the Dec. 3 win versus the Lakers. He followed that up with a 29-point performance on 10 for 20 shooting, which included 7 for 11 from distance.

“I was just taking what the defense gave me,” Daniels said after the win versus the Lakers. “And my teammates helped me get into those spots.”

The Grizzlies have also gotten solid play at guard from the No. 17 overall pick in this past June’s draft out of Vanderbilt University Wade Baldwin IV.

He had eight points and four assists versus the Magic. Seven points, nine assists and three steals in 20 minutes against the Lakers and a career-high of 11 points in 24 minutes versus the Sixers.

Another player who has stepped up and it has been since the beginning of the season has been second-year forward out of University of Alabama JaMychal Green, the Grizzlies new starting power forward.

Against the Lakers, Green had his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds to go with three block shots. At the Pelicans, he had just five points on 2 for 9 shooting, but pulled down then a career-high 17 boards. Green versus the Sixers notched his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 boards along with two steals and in the victory against the Trail Blazers had just six points, but a career-high 18 rebounds.

While these young Grizzlies have played well for them, the mainstays of Gasol and Randolph have done their part as well, especially Gasol who is averaging a career-high of 19.9 points per game.  

In the team’s comeback win against the Trail Blazers, the younger brother of Spurs’ forward/center Pau Gasol scored 36 points and pulled down nine rebounds going 13 for 24 from the field, including 4 for 6 from three-point territory. This is on the heels of double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds versus the Sixers and his second career triple-double of 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists at the Pelicans.

Following the Grizzlies’ 12 straight win coming in either overtime or by five points or less, Gasol said of his team’s ability to pull games out of the fire, “I wish I could tell you. We just keep fighting. You’ve seen it in many games now where we just don’t let go of the rope.”

Randolph in his first game back following the death of his mom and the 1,000^th of his career had a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds off the bench versus the Sixers and helping the Grizzlies to their 11^th consecutive win that either came in overtime or settled by five points or less. They also won their ninth game in succession against the Sixers

"Very, very emotional for me. Just being back out here with the guys. There's nothing better than that. Being with your brothers and competing. Getting back to it," Randolph said to FOX Sports Southeast's Rob Fischer after the win It's great. We won the game. Guys played great. Marc carried us. JaMychal, he doing what he do. It's just a team win and it's great to be back."

Besides the play of veterans and longtime Grizzlies like Randolph and Gasol, combined with the rise in play from the like of Green, Daniels and Harrison during this stretch without key players, the influence and stellar coaching Fizdale has done wonders for a team.

In moments of that magnitude, the voice of your leader on the sidelines can make all the difference in the world and the longtime assistant with the Miami Heat who was a part of their title teams, particularly the back-to-back ones in 2012 and 2013 learned from Erik Spoelstra what will work in those kinds of moments of adversity and he has used many of them in his first crack as the lead man on the sidelines.

In the early part of this winning streak the Grizzlies have been on, he referred to the remaining players as the Nasty Nine.

That group of nine as mentioned earlier has each done their part and more, which is how they have been able to overcome deficits in games and pull one rabbit out of the hat after another to turn a blowout defeat into a close victory.

“All I know is that group in (the locker room) really believes in each other, and when it gets tough, they dig in,” Fizdale said after their come from behind win versus the Sixers this past Tuesday. “They know how to rise to the occasion when it calls for it.”

A perfect example of this came in their last game versus the Trail Blazers when veteran guard Toney Douglas, who was just signed with the Grizzlies back on Tuesday had 11 points and three assists in 27 minutes.

His name was not even on a locker in the Grizzlies’ dressing room, but Fizdale the former Heat player’s importance and expressed as much after the victory.

“We don’t win that game without him,” Fizdale said of Douglas, who played 27 games for the Heat in 2013-14. “Fresh off the street, but that’s who he is. He’s a bulldog.”

Their competition over the next three games is going to get tougher. It begins with a visit from the defending Western Conference Champion Golden State Warriors (20-3) on Saturday night, winners of four straight and 16 of their last 17 games. They will then have a back-to-back home-and-home set with the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers (16-5) this coming Tuesday and Wednesday. After that, there are some winnable games for the Grizzlies. 

Compared to the aforementioned Trail Blazers, Indiana Pacers (11-12), Atlanta Hawks (12-12) and Minnesota Timberwolves (6-17) who have more talented rosters and higher expectations, the Grizzlies have continued to win with middle of the road talents, but they play hard, together and have a style of play that is reliable. They have a belief in each other and in the game plan they go into each game with, which is how they have gone 5-1 without Conley. If they can get through this next period of games and get some of their rotation players back like Conley and Parsons, this could be a team that makes some serious noise in the West.  

Information, Statistics and quotations are courtesy of 12/7/16 6:30 a.m. edition of NBATV's "Gametime," presented by Kia Motors with Matt Winer, Isiah Thomas and Steve Smith; www.espn.go.com/nba/standings; www.espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/mem/memphis-grizzlies; www.espn.go.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/mem/memphis-grizzlies and 11/29/16 www.espn.com article, “Grizzlies PG Mike Conley Expected To Miss Six Weeks” by ESPN Staff Writer Tim MacMahon.