"It's certainly not great for Marc and his family. I know he's disappointed," former Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger told reporters following Marc Gasol’s season ending injury.
After that game, you could feel that the vibe around the city was amiss. Marc Gasol was out the remainder of the season and those words would haunt Grizzlies fans for the rest of the year.
Gasol was having a great season prior to going down. He was averaging 16 ppg ,7 rpg. 3.8 apg, while being the defensive anchor. What’s really hurt is the impact that he had on both ends of the floor. While he was out, it put immense pressure on Zach Randolph and Mike Conley to lead the Grizzlies on both ends. Especially, Offensively, it led to Conley having to take on more playmaking duties and Randolph having to put up more point down low. Then throw in some more injuries and the Grizzlies had to play at a fast and rely on fastbreak points. The Grizz aren’t known for playing at an up tempo pace, which as a result led to them not scoring a …show more content…
Parsons can help take the load off Gasol by scoring the ball and also helping out defensively. Parsons is a versatile scorer, who is capable of beating you from inside or out. At the very least, it gives Gasol someone to kick it out to for an open three.
Fizdale, former Miami Heat assistant coach, brings championship experience to the team, and has great experience with bigs. Fizdale, who was with the Heat for eight years, has worked with Chris Bosh, Hassan Whiteside, Udonis Haslem and more. Not saying that Gasol needs it, but Fizdale can help him polish his game.
On the defensive end, the Grizzlies weren’t bothered that much by Gasol’s injury. They held opponents to 36% shooting from the field and showed that they weren’t afraid of opponents. But still, getting back a former Defensive Player of the Year never hurt