Grizzlies coach David Fizdale went on quite the tirade after being ejected
It’s the year of the coach tirade! David Fizdale was ejected tonight as the Memphis Grizzlies were being blown out by the Golden State Warriors. Perhaps he made a bet with Steve Kerr at halfcourt amidst the blowout about how theatrical he could get with his ejection, because this one was pretty entertaining. Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers are the current title holders for tirades this season, but that doesn’t mean Fizdale has no shot.
All the qualifications for a good ejection are here. Fizdale is being held back by his assistant while he yells at the ref, and like a defensive lineman trying to sack the quarterback, he’s doing his best to shake off his defender. He even has the fake out walk back towards the tunnel like he’s about to leave only to turn around and yell some more. That’s some quality coach screaming right there.
Unfortunately for Fizdale, as great as his tirade is, this doesn’t quite stack up to the brilliance of Kerr and Rivers. It’s a great tirade there’s no doubt about that, but the pure anger just isn’t on his face that existed on the two current champions. When Kerr was ejected he looked absolutely irate and at one point he even managed to shake off his assistant. Fizdale never managed to escape his and that is gonna dock him some points.
Doc Rivers on the other hand is the golden standard of coach screaming. There’s an incredible picture of him pointing his finger to the sky while DeAndre Jordan attempts to hold him back. Rivers was so uncontainable that his assistants couldn’t get ahold of him. They instead had to rely on their giant center to keep him in check, and that center looked very concerned while doing so. Fizdale had a solid tirade, but he needs to work on his game a bit before he can be in the same class as his competition.