The Grizzlies show “No Big Changs” in the first game without Taylor Jenkins. But the change must come

Memphis, Tennessee – The change could be an inevitable part of life, but the players of Memphis Grizzlies have never seen the change that they were facing with the crucial matchup on Saturday evening against the Los Angeles Lakers.

It was their first game without Taylor Jenkins, the most winning coach in the history of franchise, after Was fired on Friday morning In an extraordinary turning point of events.

After Saturday shootings, the leaders on the Grizzlies field called a meeting to give their teammates a forum to express their opinions on the fire and to emphasize that it is more important to focus on what is in the lead rather than on what is behind them.

“I just wanted to bring out all their raw emotions. Don’t keep anything. He leaves everything, and in this way we can really go on,” said Desmond Bane. “I told them that we have a group of great talent and we can still do some special things. (Head Coach to Interim) Tuomas (Iisalo) is a really intelligent boy and we should buy what he is trying to do, and then see what we can do in these last games and beyond.”

Jenkins’ dismissal was not such a shock just because it arrived with only nine games left in the regular season, or also because the grizzies were 15 games in .500 when the news fell. It is because Jenkins played such a fundamental role in this era of Basket Grizzlies that he contributed to increasing the standard on where 15 games beyond .500 are not quite good.

In the last five seasons, Jenkins and the three faces of the franchise – Ja Morant, Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. – were the basic pieces that transformed Memphis from a team looking for an identity into a quiet contender in the Western Conference.

Even after a competitive performance in A loss of 134-127 against the Lakers on SaturdayIt still seems how, for the first time for years, the Grizzlies are a standing team on a shaky ground.

While last season was a chaotic race due to a wave of injuries and Morant the absence for all games except nine, there was still a conviction that once Morant and the rest of the nucleus had returned, this crew could resume where he had left.

Now, the short and long term future of this team is more uncertain than it has been since the beginning of the Morante era in 2019.

“It’s difficult for me. I had the coach Taylor since I arrived here. Everything I did in a Grizzlies shirt is practically below him,” Morant said after loss. “It is the first time that I really experienced a coach leaving since I searched. It was a lot to elaborate. With the times, it’s just difficult. We had to quickly turn the page.”

The short -term future is the place where Grizzlies and Iisalo are trying to maintain their attention with the playoffs a few weeks later. The recent struggles of the team that enter the most critical stretch of the season most likely he played a role in the team’s decision to go on By Jenkins, although the general manager of Grizzlies Zach Kleiman did not provide any clarity on the reasons Behind his decision when he spoke with journalists on Saturday afternoon.

But it is difficult to ignore how much Memphis slipped after being in the mix for seed n. 2 in the West at the beginning of the month.

After the loss of Saturday, the Grizzlies are 2-6 in the last eight games and have lost 10 direct against the teams holding a .500 record or better. They are also classified in 21st place in defensive efficiency since the beginning of January.

While most of the contenders are trying to hit their step forward in the playoffs, the Grizzlies are undoubtedly playing their worst basketball of the season.

The loss of Saturday against the Lakers added only the recent defensive troubles after allowing Los Angeles to make 12 of their first 21 points 3 to start the game and surrender to 85 combined points and 25 assists at the stellar trio of the Lakers of Lebron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

While Iisalo has been praised for the work he has done this season to renew Grizzlies’s offense, this team will not go far without some significant improvements from the defensive part.

“I thought the difference was our start for the game. Unfortunately, the first half was not the quality we need to beat a team of this quality,” said Iisalo. “It’s something we have to work on. We have to improve.”

Isalo now faces the uphill battle to convince this team to change his current trajectory without a long time to implement his fundamental principles or patterns.

During his observations praying to the media before Saturday’s match, Iisalo recognized that it was a “scribbles” to put things in order since Jenkins’ news decreased and that “great changes are not coming” as regards the team’s approach on the pitch.

But in reality, which team shoots their coach, in particular a team with a winning record, without expecting great changes to arrive accordingly?

Of course, it will be difficult for Iisalo to put his stamp on this team with a time of tests so limited before the start of the playoffs. However, the pressure will be on him to stop the current spiral downwards of the Grizzlies.

Although neither he nor Kleiman have recognized him on Saturday, the next few weeks will be a privileged opportunity for Iisalo to support the case in which he should remove his temporary tag and go to the 2025-26 season as head coach of Memphis.

It is no longer easier for him in the next few days, with the Grizzlies hosting the Boston Celtics on Monday evening and the Golden State Warriors the following night.

There is the possibility that moving Iisalo in this role could be the spark that Memphis needs to put together his act before the playoffs. Or it could lead to the collapse of this team at the end of the season.

The front office is certainly motivated to see iisalo being successful. There is a reason why they wanted to add it to the Jenkins staff, together with many other new assistants, before this season.

During the loss of Saturday, Iisalo repeatedly barking his team to play faster and give Morant and Jackson the space they need to operate with the ball – two main emphasis points arriving in the season. Iisalo also spoke before the game on wanting to implement multiple pick-and-roll opportunities so that a larger piece of the crime focus on Morant.

There have already been some first results in the loss of Saturday which showed some of these changes that Iisalo is trying to implement. Morant finished the loss with 22 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. He also closed with his sixth higher use rate in any game he played more than 30 minutes this season. Morant, Bane and Jackson also closed with over 20 points in the same game for the fourth time this season.

Even if they are thin and reveal themselves gradually, there must be some changes in this group in the coming weeks. Otherwise, it is difficult to see the success of the playoffs in the future of the Grizzlies.

“We have a short time,” said Jackson. “So it’s about making sure everyone is aware of it and they feel good that they can go to the end of the year and playoffs.”

In the end, if this team makes some noise before the end of the season and in the playoffs, he must start with the Big 3 – Morant, Bane and Jackson Jr. – they perform at a much higher level on both ends of the field.

Those three took an important step in advance with their game in the Lakers match and with the leadership they showed with the team meeting after Shootoound on Saturday afternoon.

So what will come later for this Grizzlies team? One thing is certain: if some of those small changes Iisalo is looking for they do not start, it is probably sure to assume that the bigger changes are coming in the summer.

(Photo by Ja Morant and Tuomas Iisalo: Justin Ford/Getty Images)