MEMPHIS – The Memphis Grizzlies continue to be the talk of the NBA these days.
But for all the wrong reasons.
It was positive publicity when they were winning 11 games in a row… but now, not so much.
Whether it the shouting match with Shannon Sharpe in L.A.
Or the chaos in Cleveland that led to Dillon Brooks suspension.
Or The Athletic report over the weekend that talked about a run in between friends of Ja Morant and members of the Indiana Pacers in the underground parking lot at FedExForum, national pundits have put the Beale Street Bears on blast.
Both Morant and Brooks were at practice Monday but neither was made available to the media.
Those who did talk were asked about the distractions and all the outside noise around a team that’s still second best in the West, but a team that’s also lost 8 of 9.
“I’m sure that it’s a lot of noise out there about, you know. The Grizzlies are doing this, the Grizzlies are fighting, the Grizzlies doing it like. But I just personally, I just try to stay focused on the court,” said Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke. “It’s a lot better for my mental just like not even look at that stuff no more.”
“When I watch the film and I watch our guys compete, I’m not sitting there going, man, that incident that happened a week ago is the reason why we’re struggling right now. It’s where we’ve had lack of practice time and we’ve got guys in different roles and stuff. No excuses. We just got to find ways to combat that. I think they have a good short term memory, so I don’t sense that,” said Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins. “But you know, the fact that those narratives are out there and stuff that we have to overcome, that’s good adversity, good challenges they got to face. This is good for our evolution, growth as a team.”
Grizzlies host the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.