Things have just gone from bad to horrible for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Marc Gasol isn’t a happy man. Memphis Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale decided to bench him during the fourth quarter on Sunday night, and the team still ended up losing 98-88 to the Brooklyn Nets.
Gasol leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and blocks per game, and so it is confusing why Fizdale would treat his franchise player that way. The coach’s excuse was that the reserves led the team back into a spot where the game was winnable again, but that is when you turn it over to your closers.
Gasol scored 18 points in the game regardless of the benching, and the Grizzlies have now lost eight straight. If the season slips away any further, then it will be time to talk about trading Gasol to a contender who could actually use him. He is on a contract through 2020, but the last year of that deal is a player option.
“Obviously, you get frustrated, and I did, and mad and start wondering. You take it personally,” Gasol said to ESPN. “If I’m not on the floor, then I’m not valued. I’m sure [the coaching staff] knew that would hurt me the most.”
He is a competitor at heart, and Fizdale basically sent a message that he doesn’t trust the center in crunch time. Point guard Mike Conley is still out with a sore Achilles tendon, and forward Chandler Parsons felt a tightness in his right knee and left the game in the first half. If Conley ends up rushing back to keep their season afloat, then he might be risking an even more serious injury.
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Fizdale should do everything in his power to keep Gasol satisfied, though. Because if the team doesn’t make the playoffs and their superstar center isn’t content and decides to leave, they will live in the basement of the NBA for the next decade.