Grind City GameDay: Grizzlies vs. 76ers
Michael WallaceBy Michael Wallace
Grind City MediaMEMPHIS – Last week, they were the Nasty Nine.
Last game, the Grizzlies’ nickname shifted to the Tenacious Ten.
And now, they’re on the verge of perhaps becoming the Enlivened Eleven when the Grizzlies open a three-game homestand on Tuesday against the Philadelphia 76ers at FedExForum. A Memphis roster battling through injuries and absences will get a major boost with Zach Randolph expected to return after missing seven games following the death of his mother on Thanksgiving.
Several of the Grizzlies’ coaches, executives and teammates were in constant contact with Randolph throughout his absence. A front-office contingent that included coach David Fizdale flew to Indiana on Saturday to support Randolph during funeral services for his mother, Mae, before returning for Saturday night’s home victory against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Grizzlies (14-8) have gone 4-3 without Randolph, one of the NBA’s most productive reserves this season since he shifted to a full-time role off bench for the first time in his eight years with Memphis. Randolph is averaging 14.2 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds in 22.2 minutes. Fizdale believes getting back to basketball could help Randolph cope with a difficult time off the court.
“It’s a struggle; it’s been really tough on him because, obviously, he and his mother were like best friends,” Fizdale said of Mae, who regularly sat directly behind the scorers’ table at FedExForum and was acknowledged by her son every time he checked in or out of games. “He’s really had a hard time with it, but this group has helped him. I don’t know if he expected this to happen, but he’s (been) getting bombarded every day with texts and calls from the team.”
After Saturday’s win over the Lakers, the entire team and coaching staff gathered in the locker room and took a photo while holding Randolph’s No. 50 jersey and sent him the image. Last week, Randolph returned to Memphis for two days to work out at the practice facility before going back to Indiana. Fizdale also encouraged Randolph to go to his old high school gym if he needed an emotional lift.
Randolph’s return bolsters a roster that was down to nine available players through a three-game stretch last week because five other key players were out with injuries. Fizdale nicknamed the group the ‘Nasty Nine’ before last Wednesday’s game in Toronto. Memphis was up to 10 players for Monday’s win in New Orleans after the team was granted a special hardship injury exemption to sign combo guard Toney Douglas. The moniker then shifted to the ‘Tenacious Ten’ before that double-overtime victory.
Randolph’s return brings the Grizzlies’ available bodies to 11 as they aim for their fourth straight win. It will be his 1,000th career game, with 495 coming in a Grizzlies’ uniform.
“I can’t stress enough to the team and to this city when he comes back to do whatever you can to help lift him up,” Fizdale said. “He wants to get back into his rhythm of playing again. Just to take out some of his frustrations and sadness on another team, I think that will help him a lot.”
HEALTH REPORT
To clear up any confusion as to how the NBA’s hardship roster exemption works, Grizzlies vice president of basketball operations John Hollinger confirmed a few key details. Memphis was awarded the exemption to sign Douglas to a 16th roster spot Monday. To be granted the waiver, the Grizzlies had to have at least four injured players who have currently missed at least the past three games and are projected to be out in the range of two additional weeks. Those four players under the current exemption are Mike Conley (back), Chandler Parsons (knee), James Ennis (calf) and Brandan Wright (ankle). Vince Carter (hip) is also out for Tuesday’s game against the Sixers and will be day-to-day heading into Thursday’s home game against Portland. Douglas, who played eight minutes Monday against New Orleans, will be on the roster for up to 10 days under the waiver. Hollinger said the Grizzlies must reapply for another exemption if needed once the current waiver expires Dec. 14. That likely means Conley, Parsons, Ennis and Wright will be sidelined through at least the next five games.
NUMBERS WATCH
8. After shooting 13-for-34 from three-point range Monday in New Orleans, the Grizzlies have now made at least 10 treys in eight games this season. Tuesday marks their 23rd game of the season. That’s significant because Memphis made 10 or more threes in seven games all of last season. It didn’t have more than five such games in any of the previous three seasons. Through 22 games this season, Memphis is 192-for-564 from three-point range.
KEEP AN EYE ON
Marc Gasol. Tuesday’s game against the Sixers could be the most revealing test as to where Gasol stands in the team’s approach to minutes’ management. Gasol played a season-high 46 minutes in Monday’s double-overtime win against New Orleans, where he notched the second triple-double of his career with 28 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals and two blocks. Gasol played nearly 10 minutes in the fourth quarter and then every second of both overtime periods. “When you play that many minutes, you have a chance to get some numbers,” Gasol said as he downplayed his performance. “I don’t care about the numbers. I just care about the win.” With the Sixers expected to be without several frontcourt players, including center Joel Embiid and power forward Nerlens Noel, this may be a game in which the Grizzlies can get by with Gasol either playing heavily reduced minutes or sitting out for precautionary rest. With Randolph expected back and center Deyonta Davis available, it could be tempting to rest Gasol and have him revived and fresh for the Blazers’ arrival Thursday and the Warriors’ visit to town Saturday.
GRIZZ-TAKE
Troy Daniels on scoring 60 points over his last two games while shooting 13-for-23 on three-pointers – The hoop is like an ocean, and as a shooter, that’s what you want to see. I feel like I’m getting my rhythm and slowing down a little bit. I’ve been working all summer just for this moment.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Michael Wallace are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its Basketball Operations staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Memphis Grizzlies and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
Published on Dec 06, 2016
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