Once the calendar hit 2016 in the 2015-16 season the injury bug wreaked havoc on an aging Grizzlies squad as legitimately every core player of their team, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen dealt with injuries. It seemed like the Grit and Grind era of basketball in Memphis was dead as we know it.
Then in the off-season after former coach Dave Joeger did an incredible job of carrying a NBA suicide squad level cast of characters to the postseason, the Grizzlies and Joeger decided to part ways because of their differences in ideology and vision for the direction of the franchise.
Enter David Fizdale, longtime Miami Heat assistant coach, best known for being that assistant coach at the end of the bench with the snazzy glasses while you played with the Heat on NBA2K. Fizdale took over the coaching duties and the Grizzlies re-signed Mike Conley and reeled in their first big (very debatable) free agency fish in combo forward and three-point marksmen Chandler Parsons.
Now the Grit and Grind Grizzlies are back. Fizdale will be more than likely pumped to see Gasol and Randolph back on the floor together out-muscling and outsmarting opposing front courts right? No so much.
It was revealed last week that Z-Bo would be coming off of the bench in order to allow JaMychal Green to start. Fizdale said on Sirius XM Radio Tuesday morning that playing Gasol and Randolph together is “… a recipe for disaster.”
Those are pretty harsh words and surprising when you consider how much success the two have had playing together for the past seven seasons. When you consider that Randolph is 35 now and Gasol is coming off of a serious foot injury and the the days of two dominant and traditional post big men in the NBA seem to be long gone, it probably is a good idea to limit their minutes together.
One can expect the Grizzlies to play a little faster pace this season.
