Tag: basketball

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From My Seat Sports

Grand Gasol

Photo by Wes Hale

It has been a trying basketball season in the Bluff City. The Memphis Tigers suffered a midseason collapse unlike any in memory and missed out on the NCAA tournament for the first time in three years. As for our NBA favorites, the Grizzlies have made a mockery of the “MASH unit” cliche with injured stars — Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart — shaping the team’s lousy record more than their healthy, lesser-known replacements. The Griz have lost 50 games for only the second time in 15 seasons, an unwanted marker fans knew the team would hit as early as December.

But then came last Saturday night at FedExForum. In town to see his jersey number (33) retired was “Big Spain” himself, Marc Gasol. The younger brother of Hall of Famer Pau, Marc received the banner treatment from the franchise before the man he was traded for in a franchise-shifting (and Gasol-family-shifting) deal way back in 2008. Whether or not Pau ever receives this salute from the Grizzlies, the honor was a no-doubter for Marc, the first Memphis player to earn first-team All-NBA honors (2015), the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, the franchise’s career leader in rebounds, blocks, and minutes played. He may have won an NBA title with the Toronto Raptors (in 2019), but Gasol had “Grit” and “Grind” engraved on his championship ring. When or if the Grizzlies consider unveiling a statue in front of FedExForum, the case could be made it should look a lot like Marc Gasol. 

We attend sporting events for the possibility of what might happen next, but we tend to go back because of what we’ve seen, the history a franchise and its players make over the course of several years. This makes the retiring of Marc Gasol’s jersey — and Zach Randolph’s in 2021 — so essential to the bond still being formed between an NBA team and the city it’s called home now for 23 years. Why cheer a club that won’t sniff the playoffs this spring? You might look back at Marc Gasol’s first winter in Memphis, when the Grizzlies went 24-58, for your answer. Memphis went 40-42 in 2009-10, then reached the playoffs the next seven years, including the Western Conference finals in 2013. Darkest before the dawn, as they say.

On the subject of reflective salutes, it might be time for the Grizzlies to consider a banner that mentions the team’s Southwest Division titles in 2022 and ’23. If you’re the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers, the rafters have no room for “championships” that don’t come with a parade. But if your franchise has yet to reach the NBA Finals? Let’s acknowledge teams that stand out for posterity, even without a parade (yet) down Beale Street.

• How severely has the injury bug infected the 2023-24 Memphis Grizzlies? Through Sunday, no fewer than 22 players have started a game for Memphis, but only two — Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane —  have started as many as 41 (half the regular season), and only Jackson will finish the season with more than 50 starts. Ten years from now, how will Trey Jemison, Jordan Goodwin, and Jaylen Nowell be remembered in these parts? Each started at least one game for this Grizzlies club. They won’t be getting a banner from the franchise, but if you, a devoted fan, recall their names in 2034, you should.

• With Vince Carter’s election to the Basketball Hall of Fame, it marks consecutive years that a former Grizzly has received the sport’s highest honor. (Pau Gasol was inducted in 2023.) Carter was part of three playoff teams (2015-17) with Memphis over the course of his 22-year career.

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Sports Sports Feature

Orlando Gives the Grizzlies a Magic Beatdown

Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke dunks the ball against the Orlando Magic on March 30, 2024. (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)

On Saturday night at KIA Center, the Orlando Magic thrashed the Memphis Grizzlies 118-88.

The first quarter came to a close with Memphis already down 20 points. Orlando put up 33 points, while the Grizzlies managed just 13, shooting a dismal 21.7 percent from the field.

The victory snapped the Magic’s three-game losing streak. Earlier in the week, they lost close games against the Sacramento Kings, the Golden State Warriors, and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Orlando ended a five-game losing streak against the Grizzlies. The previous meeting ended in a nail-biter at FedExForum, 107-106, with a Grizzlies win on January 26th. 

Memphis dropped to 24-50 for the season, with eight games remaining, a mark they’ll want to forget. It appeared early on in Saturday night’s contest that Memphis’ players were focused on something other than basketball, and it showed. 

Reserve Jordan Goodwin led the Grizzlies with 16 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.

In his second game back from injury, Brandon Clarke had a solid showing, with 13 points and four rebounds off the bench. 

“It was already out of hand — they won every single quarter,” said Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins after the game. “You have to give the Magic tons of credit. They played with a lot of physicality; their defense was phenomenal tonight. Couldn’t get in the paint — couldn’t knock down an open shot. They played beautiful basketball, shared the rock.” 

Jenkins added, “So you know we just kept trying to fight. I thought we had a chance to win that second quarter — have some momentum, but the Magic had an answer for everything; so many different guys stepped up and played well.” 

“I thought BC [Clarke] did a really good job; liked seeing Jordan [Goodwin] have kind of a bounce-back game. I thought he did some good things. Well, obviously Luke [Kennard]’s been out for a couple of weeks now, just seeing him have some pop with his conditioning and stuff. And we’re just trying to find every way possible to have some positives and move forward. And obviously we’ve got to respond on Monday against Detroit.”

“Keep fighting, keep making something out of each every day,” Jenkins said about his message to his players as the season is winding down. “That’s what we’ve done all season long. Every year that I’ve been here we got different guys that are gonna hear that message for the very first time. Over and over again. Obviously we haven’t been in this situation since I’ve been here, but you gotta make the most of every day. That’s what we stand for.” 

Memphis travels to Detroit to take on the Pistons, Monday, April 1st, at Little Caesars Arena at 6 p.m. CT. 

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Sports Tiger Blue

Memory Makers

David Jones leads the AAC in scoring (photo by Wes Hale).

When the University of Memphis hired Penny Hardaway to coach its basketball program in 2018, his task was to make Tiger hoops meaningful again, to make Tiger seasons memorable. (What stands out in your memory from the four seasons prior to Hardaway taking over? See how this works?) Hardaway’s first five seasons went well by some measures and fell short of expectations by others. But each, in its own way, was memorable. Which begs the question as March nears: How will the Tigers’ 2023-24 season stand out for local hoop historians? For context, a brief review of the Coach Penny era, seasons 1 through 5.

2018-19: The Year of Jeremiah

Before this season, no Tiger had ever scored 40 points in two different games. Jeremiah Martin did so in the same month (February). A player who averaged 2.7 points per game as a freshman under coach Josh Pastner became the fifth to score 700 in a single season (19.7 average). The pride of Mitchell High School made a mediocre (22-14) season unforgettable.

2019-20: The Year of Our Precious

Many in these parts remember this season as The Year Without Wiseman. The mighty NCAA decided Hardaway had violated rules in his recruiting of James Wiseman, leading to a suspension of the player and eventually his departure from the program. But let’s accentuate the positive. The team’s “other” five-star recruit, Precious Achiuwa, averaged 15.8 points and 10.8 rebounds and became the first Tiger to earn Player of the Year honors in the American Athletic Conference. The season ended prematurely with the Covid shutdown, so we’ll never know if that team (21-10) may have rallied in the AAC tourney for a bid to the Big Dance. But again, one player made the season rather remarkable.

2020-21: A National Title (Sorta)

Empty arenas and a team that couldn’t seem to decide its star. Landers Nolley? Boogie Ellis? Lester Quinones? A six-game winning streak late in the season wasn’t enough to get the Tigers into the NCAA tournament, so they headed to a slimmed-down NIT in north Texas. And they won the darn thing, beating Mississippi State in the final for the program’s second NIT crown. Did it fill a void? Meet Hardaway’s expectations? No and no. Did it make for a memorable ending to a pandemic-heavy winter of Tiger basketball? Emphatically yes.

2021-22: Dancing Days Return

This team beat a pair of Top-10 squads (Alabama and Houston) on its way to the program’s first NCAA tournament since 2014. Freshman Jalen Duren (12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds) played his way into the first round of the NBA draft and the Tigers gave top-ranked Gonzaga all it could handle in the second round of the NCAAs. A season that felt like Hardaway and the Tigers were on the right path.

2022-23: The Year of KD

After transferring from SMU, point guard Kendric Davis led the AAC in both scoring (21.9) and assists (5.4), somehow falling short in the league’s Player of the Year voting. Better yet, Davis helped the Tigers knock off top-ranked Houston — the first such upset in program history — and win their first AAC tournament. An overlooked timeout near the end of their clash with FAU in the opening round of the NCAA tournament ended the season prematurely. Davis became the second player to put up 700 points in a season under Hardaway.

How will we remember the current season when all is said and done? As of now, it’s The Midseason Massacre, a four-game losing streak that, in rasslin’ terms, knocked a Top-10 team entirely out of the ring. David Jones leads the AAC in scoring and is the kind of player who could help Memphis make a run in the conference tournament next month. It’s a good time for Tiger fans to remember basketball memories aren’t born but made.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Talented Teasers?

Penny Hardaway (Credit: Wes Hale)

Are the Memphis Tigers a legitimate Top-10 team, Final Four contenders? Or are they the biggest teasers east of the Dallas Cowboys? Nineteen games into the 2023-24 season, it seems the answer to one of these questions will ultimately be in the affirmative.

Sunday’s loss at Tulane — the Green Wave’s first upset of a Top-25 team since the Clinton presidency — changed the Tigers’ season, and compounded last Thursday’s loss at home to USF. A team that started the week undefeated in a less-than-respected American Athletic Conference now has a two-game losing streak and, worse, merely 12 regular-season games left to improve its resume for those who hand out seeds for the NCAA tournament. Memphis, you might note, has never reached the Sweet 16 seeded lower than sixth.

Last Thursday night at FedExForum could have been an anomalous nadir. With the arena virtually empty — the university publicly urged fans to stay home and off the icy roads — Memphis looked all of its number-10 ranking in taking a 20-point lead into the second half. Then they seemed to hit black ice as a unit and allowed USF to storm back, tie the game with less than a minute to play, and win the contest on a Kasean Pryor free throw with five seconds to play. (There’s brutal irony in a team from South Florida knocking off the Tigers while fans were home dripping their faucets.) The Tigers’ late-game hero Jahvon Quinerly committed a turnover in the game’s closing seconds and missed a desperation three-point attempt at the buzzer. If empty seats could boo, they would have.

The loss was especially bizarre, as it came four days after Memphis looked like their predecessors from 2008 or 1985, both Final Four years. The Tigers scored 112 points in beating Wichita State, the most on the road for this program in 69 years. Against USF, they couldn’t crack 80. The Tigers drained 19 three-pointers in overwhelming the Shockers, a program record. Against the Bulls, they missed 22 of their 28 shots from long range. Memphis lost despite outscoring USF 42-18 in the paint and 21-2(!) on fast breaks. The numbers don’t make sense, but the loss is permanent and will cost Memphis its spot in that hallowed Top 10.

As long as Quinerly and David Jones remain healthy, the Tigers will enter March with an arsenal most teams — “power conference” or otherwise — would envy. Jones (21.7 points per game) is the leading candidate for AAC Player of the Year. Right behind him may well be Quinerly (14.0 points, 4.7 assists). Were it not for Quinerly’s game-winning treys against Tulsa and SMU, the Tigers might have a losing record in league play. Jones took a three-point shot that could have won Sunday’s game at Tulane. He missed, as stars sometimes do. How will the Tigers process two straight gut punches as they wait a week before returning to play (Sunday at UAB)?

Following the Tigers’ narrow escape against SMU on January 7th, Hardaway emphasized the joy he took in seeing his team improve while winning. Beats the “learn from our losses” track every day of the week. And the Tigers are certainly better for their recent 10-game winning streak. But Hardaway also suggested this group of veteran transfers may actually be too confident, that they feel like any obstacle or deficit can be overcome, and this can sometimes compromise group effort. A home loss to a team with a NET rating of 146, you gotta believe, might help reduce that overconfidence intangible.

Another intangible to track with these Tigers: team chemistry. Following the USF loss, Hardaway suggested internal strife was impacting who he could put on the floor and when. If this is the case (more than two months into the season), the likelihood of a full recovery — let alone a Final Four run — seems remote. The sixth-year coach may have the greatest challenge of his career on his hands: Getting the most out of a talented team before the players on that team sabotage the mission. That would be a cruel tease, indeed.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Defeated by Timberwolves’ Late-Game Comeback

Jaren Jackson Jr takes the ball to the basket against Rudy Gobert.
Jaren Jackson Jr takes the ball to the basket against Rudy Gobert. Credit: NBAE/Getty Images

With a final score of 118-103, the Memphis Grizzlies were defeated by the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday night, in the first game of a four-game road trip, with a little help from an old friend.

Let’s get into it.

This is one game where the final score doesn’t tell the whole story, as much as a 15-point loss can. Memphis played three excellent quarters of basketball. Unfortunately, it was still a four-quarter game, and a 20-point deficit in the 4th was too much for the Grizzlies to overcome.

The first quarter was going well for Memphis until Naz Reid checked in for Minnesota and ruined it by scoring 13 points on 5 of 5 field goal shooting (3 of 3 from three-point range), as the Timberwolves ended the quarter on a 13-3 run and overshadowed a 15-point quarter from Jaren Jackson Jr.

The teams were tied at 30 points apiece going into the second quarter, and the Grizzlies took a 5-point lead into halftime. In the second half, Luke Kennard put up 15 of his 18 points in the third quarter, shooting 5 of 6 overall and 4 of 4 from beyond the arc. Anthony Edwards scored 14 of his 28 points in the third quarter, keeping the Timberwolves in the game.

The fourth quarter is where the wheels fell off for Memphis, starting with Jaren Jackson Jr picking up his 5th foul with 10 minutes remaining. Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins not challenging any of Jackson’s fouls was an ill-advised decision.

Mike Conley added insult to injury in the final frame, shooting a perfect 3 of 3 overall and 2 of 2 from three. Conley’s 17 points for the game matched the Grizzlies’ 17 points for the fourth quarter.

By The Numbers:

Jaren Jackson Jr finished the night with a game-high 36 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block.

Please enjoy this clip of Jackson Jr knocking down a three in the face of Rudy Gobert:

Kennard took advantage of his appearance in the starting lineup, closing out the night with 18 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.

Vince Williams Jr added 10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block, Xavier Tillman Sr closed out with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

From the second unit:

Santi Aldama put up 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block. David Roddy added 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist.

Who Got Next?

The Grizzlies are heading to the Windy City Saturday night to face off against the Chicago Bulls. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Undermanned Grizzlies Rise to the Occasion Against Mavericks

Desmond Bane dribbles the ball against the Mavericks.
Desmond Bane dribbles the ball against the Mavericks. Credit: NBAE/Getty Images

The final score was 120-103, a respectable win in a game that most expected the Grizzlies to lose. A short-handed Memphis team put the clamps on a healthy Dallas squad, on their home floor no less, and snapped the Mavericks’ three-game winning streak. 


It was the first game Memphis played since the news about Ja Morant’s season-ending torn labrum, and while this Grizzlies team was certainly feeling down, they didn’t show it on the court. Jaren Jackson Jr and Santi Aldama were also sidelined for Tuesday night’s game, both with knee soreness. 

Let’s get into it.

Try as they might have, not even 30-point games from Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic could lift the Mavericks to a victory, nor could Dallas’s 21 points off of 17 Memphis turnovers.

In the absence of Morant and Jackson Jr, Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart stepped up. Bane scored a team-high 32 points and Smart shot a team-high 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.

The outcome of the rebounding battle has been a fairly accurate predictor of success for the Grizzlies this season and this game was no exception– the Grizzlies outrebounded the Mavericks 54-33.

For reference, Memphis is 0-21 when they have fewer rebounds than their opponent, and 13-1 when they have more.

In addition to winning the battle of the boards, the Grizzlies beat the Mavericks in three-point shooting (37.8% vs 33.3%), overall shooting (48.4% vs 43.9%), and assists (27 to 20).

Bane led the way with a team-high 32 points, plus 9 rebounds and 4 assists.

Marcus Smart closed out the night with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals while shooting 4 of 8 from three-point range.

Luke Kennard put up 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 3 of 4 from long range.

From the second unit:

Vince Williams Jr added 14 points and 4 rebounds.

Xavier Tillman Sr added 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.

David Roddy contributed 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.

-manned, outnumbered, out-planned. That has been the story of the Memphis Grizzlies this season, and while a deep postseason run is likely not in the cards, neither is this team just lying down and admitting defeat.

Who Got Next?

After going 3-0 on their three-game road trip, the Grizzlies will return home for a three-game homestand starting with the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, January 12th. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Winning Streak Halted in Loss to Nuggets

Desmond Bane drives to the basket against the Denver Nuggets.
Desmond Bane drives to the basket against the Denver Nuggets. Credit: NBAE/Getty Images

With a final score of 142-105, the Grizzlies lost to the reigning champions the Denver Nuggets and broke their longest winning streak of the season.

Let’s get into it.

Due to illness, Memphis was missing Ja Morant and Santi Aldama, and the Grizzlies had no answer for Nikola Jokic’s 26 points, 14 rebound, and 10 assists for a perfect-from-the-floor triple-double.

It was a stark reminder that the team without Ja Morant looks entirely different than the one that just won four straight games.

The Grizzlies managed an eight point lead to start the first quarter, but quickly lost that and would struggle to find an offensive rhythm in the second. Memphis went into the second half down by 17, and that number continued to grow.

Shooting was a struggle throughout, particularly from three-point range, where the Grizzlies shot 37 percent compared to the Nuggets 48.8 percent. Their overall field goal shooting also suffered as Memphis finished the night at 41.6 percent compared to Denver’s 57.3 percent overall shooting.

Another area that was lacking for Memphis was their performance in the painted area, typically a strong point for the team. But the Grizzlies were outworked in the paint by the Nuggets 46 to 64. Denver also beat Memphis on the glass, with 53 rebounds compared to 36 for the Grizzlies, and in the assists department – 43 to 23.

By The Numbers:

Desmond Bane had a team-high 23 points and 2 assists.

Marcus Smart followed with 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Jaren Jackson Jr. finished the night with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

From the second unit, David Roddy put up 15 points, and John Konchar contributed 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

Who Got Next?

No rest for the weary; the Grizzlies will play their final road game of the year tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers. This is a late game for those watching in Memphis, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice. Tip-off is at 9:30 p.m.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizzlies Scorched by Heat

Desmond Bane goes up for a shot against Jimmy Butler. Credit: Aimee Stiegemeyer

The Memphis Grizzlies were at home Wednesday night for the first of a two-game homestand, facing off against Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat.

They finished on the losing end of a 108-102 final score. Memphis has now moved to 1-7 on the season and are still looking to get their first home win. As the team with formerly the best home record in the league, to be winless on the home court is alarming, to say the least.

There are 17 more games left until Ja Morant returns from suspension and if the team keeps playing this way, they may well be 1-24 by the time he gets back.

As per what seems to be the new usual, the Grizzlies struggled in the first quarter, falling behind by double-digits. They were able to cut Miami’s lead to 7 heading into the second quarter.

Miami’s Tyler Herro went down with roughly a minute left in the period and went immediately to the locker room when he left the court. Herro did not return to the lineup.

Luke Kennard seems to have recovered from his concussion, and how. He made three consecutive three-pointers midway through the first quarter, giving Memphis a sorely needed offensive boost. By the end of the quarter, Kennard had a team-high 11 points. Unfortunately, Kennard only scored two more points the rest of the night.

The Grizzlies did a good job in the first half of the second quarter slowing down Miami’s offense but they couldn’t keep that energy up for the whole period. The Grizzlies had eight more shot attempts than the Heat but were still down by eight at the midway point, 54-46.

Miami got to the free throw line 17 times in the first half, compared to Memphis’ eight attempts.

Memphis had the first possession of the third quarter, which turned into a made three-pointer by Desmond Bane. Memphis went on outscore Miami 30-23 in the quarter, and the score was 77-76 heading into the final frame.

Miami had the ball for the first possession in the fourth, which was promptly stolen by Santi Aldama, who then made a clutch three-point basket to put Memphis up 79-77. And then it all fell apart again.

Memphis got in the penalty with 7:21 left in the fourth quarter and Miami went up 98-88 with just under four minutes left. Aldama hits another clutch three to pull the Grizzlies within three with 35.5 seconds remaining. Then Jaime Jaquez Jr answered with a three of his own to put the final nail in the Grizzlies’ coffin. And that was the ballgame. Woof.

The Grizzlies had 13 more shot attempts than the Heat and still lost. Miami won the battle of the boards, 44-38, and grabbed 10 more defensive rebounds than Memphis. 

Memphis had no answer for Bam Adebayo, who was getting everything he wanted on offense, lighting it up from midrange. Adebayo finished with a game-high 30 points, plus 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Jaren Jackson Jr led Memphis with 28 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Jackson was the only Grizzly to score more than 20 points. Desmond Bane finished the night with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Marcus Smart put up 11 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.

From the second unit, Santi Aldama contributed 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals, while Luke Kennard put up 13 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists. Aldama and Kennard combined for 25 of 37 points from the bench.

Who Got Next?

The Grizzlies will face off against the Utah Jazz on Friday, November 10th, in their second in-season tournament game. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Turnovers Lead to Third Consecutive Grizzlies Loss

Marcus Smart guards Jordan Poole. Credit: NBAE/Getty Images

The early-season struggle continues for the shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies. Final: Washington-113, Memphis-106 

The Grizzlies took a trip Saturday to our nation’s capital, where they faced off against the Washington Wizards in their first road game of the season, on the heels of losing the previous night to the reigning champion Denver Nuggets.

Led by Jordan Poole and former Grizzly Tyus Jones, the Wizards outplayed the Grizzlies three quarters out of four, and the Grizzlies moved to 0-3 to start their season, losing their third straight game.

Down by as many as 25 points, the Grizzlies did manage to cut the lead to single digits late in the fourth quarter but could not overcome their sloppy ballhandling and lackluster shooting in the first half.

Nothing will be easy for this Grizzlies team, which is without its star point guard Ja Morant for 25 games and without presumptive starting center Steven Adams for the entire season. The team will likely continue to struggle while it develops chemistry and the new additions adapt to the style of play.

Desmond Bane led the team with 26 points on 10 of 20 overall shooting.

Ziaire Williams put up his first career double-double, with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Jaren Jackson Jr finished the night with 16 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.

Marcus Smart had nine points, four points, and six assists while shooting four of eight overall.

David Roddy led the second unit with 14 points and six rebounds while shooting three of four from beyond the three-point line.

Who Got Next?

The Grizzlies return home to FedExForum to face off against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, October 30th. Tip-off is at 7 PM CDT.

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Beyond the Arc Sports

Don’t Be So Quick To Retcon the Dillon Brooks Era

Dillon Brooks dunks the ball against the Milwaukee Bucks. (Credit: NBAE/Getty Images)

The Memphis Grizzlies and Dillon Brooks are parting ways after six seasons. It was reported by Shams Charania via Twitter and the Athletic, and the phrasing used was brutal – that Brooks would not be brought back “under any circumstances.”

But don’t be so quick to retcon the Dillon Brooks era.

Suddenly the criticism of Brooks, which had been coming from all angles for his antics during the first round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers, has been turned on to the franchise itself for throwing Brooks under the bus.

Winning cures everything, and when Brooks was helping the Grizzlies win, his antics off and on the court could be tolerated. Now he’s not, and they aren’t. This isn’t rocket science.

The internet did provide some humor to the situation, and it’s fun to get those jokes off, but when it comes down to it, Dillon Brooks made the Grizzlies a better team for much longer than he didn’t. 

The writing has been on the wall for a while, and anyone who claims to be surprised by this outcome is either lying or living under a rock. And blaming the culture in Memphis and claiming Brooks is being made a scapegoat diminishes the actual basketball reasons the team is correctly moving on from him. He had become a liability on the offensive end, and Coach Jenkins either couldn’t or wouldn’t rein him in.

For all the noise surrounding the Grizzlies and Dillon Brooks, it would be helpful to remember that this team would not be where they are today without his efforts. 

It’s okay to think his outsized trash-talking and at times reckless style of play would have been a detriment to the team going forward and appreciate the hard work and effort he’s shown this franchise for the past six seasons. We can and should do both.

When Dillon was drafted in 2017, the team was wildly different from the Grizzlies of the present day. During the 2017-18 season, the Grizzlies had a total of 24 players who played minutes for them, including such memorable players as Andrew Harrison, Jarell Martin, Ivan Rabb, and (who could forget?) Chandler Parsons. The Grizzlies went through a sudden head-coaching change and finished 14th in the western conference with a 22-60 record. Marc Gasol was still the leader of the team, and Mike Conley was the theoretical co-captain, although he was recovering from injury most of the season. The team Brooks was drafted by is unrecognizable now.

I still remember one of Brooks’ first games in a Memphis Grizzlies uniform. It was a preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans, and he shot 5 for 5 from beyond the arc, during a period the team was notoriously lacking in outside shooting. In his rookie season, he played 2,350 minutes across all 82 regular season games, and the most total minutes of his career to date.

You will be hard-pressed to find a player who gives 110% effort in every game, but Brooks does. He always wants the toughest defensive assignments, and he prides himself in holding opponents to low-scoring numbers when they face him. He is a genuine asset on the defensive end … most of the time.

But that Dillon Brooks is also the same player who never met a shot he didn’t like, who led the league two years in a row in fouls accumulated, who regularly shoots ill-advised three-point shots only a few seconds into the shot clock. And sometimes, that was exactly what the Grizzlies needed, but that time has passed. As we all must grow and change and adapt, so too does this team.

The Grizzlies have outgrown Dillon Brooks, and that’s okay.