Memphis Grizzlies Rumors | Hoops Rumors

NBA Makes Schedule Changes

January 27th, 2021 at 5:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Some of the 22 games that have been postponed due to COVID-19 will be rescheduled for the first half of the season, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The decision was made “with a specific focus on the teams with the most postponed games to date,” according to a statement from the NBA.

The league wants to avoid overloading teams such as the Wizards and Grizzlies, who have each had six games called off so far. If all those games had been made up in the second half, as originally planned, Washington and Memphis would both have been required to play 41 times in 67 days. The second part of the season will run from March 11 through May 16.

The first change will take effect Tuesday when the Wizards host the Trail Blazers in a game that had been intended for the second half of the season. A Portland-Charlotte game on February 7 has been replaced by a Wizards-Hornets matchup that was originally scheduled for January 20. The Blazers’ game against the Hornets will be put on the second-half schedule.

No other schedule changes have been released so far. A complete list of the postponed games can be found here.

Exploring How Brandon Clarke Has Thrived As Starter

January 24th, 2021 at 8:00pm CST by JD Shaw

Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal explores how Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke has thrived as a starter this season. Clarke, 24, has averaged 13.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 29.3 minutes in the team’s first 13 games, starting in nine of those contests. “Last year, I would rather be in the sixth man role just because I was more comfortable with that but now I feel like that it’s what the team might need,” Clarke said about receiving a larger role. “If I can step up and be the player that I know I can be, I can come in and help us out with the first five.”

Bulls-Grizzlies Wednesday Game Postponed

January 24th, 2021 at 6:24pm CST by JD Shaw

The Bulls–Grizzlies game on Wednesday night has been postponed in accordance with the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the league announced in a press release.

The postponement is a result of contact tracing within the Grizzlies and the length of time preceding the game during which Memphis will be unable to practice, the release said. This marks the Grizzlies’ fifth straight postponed game (Wednesday and Friday against Portland, plus Sunday and Monday against Sacramento).

Although another game has been postponed, Memphis still has no new players entered into the health and safety protocols, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

As our NBA Game Postponement Tracker shows, this is the 21st game suspended by the NBA this season. The Grizzlies (7-6) currently own the sixth-best record in the Western Conference, while the Bulls (7-9) own the tenth-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Grizzlies’ Postponements Represent Evolution In NBA’s Approach

January 21st, 2021 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s decision to postpone the Grizzlies‘ next three games – despite the team only currently having one confirmed case of COVID-19 – represents an evolution in the league’s approach to the virus and to the 2020/21 schedule, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

For most of the season, when a player has tested positive for the coronavirus, the NBA has conducted a contact tracing investigation for a day or two, then required players to self-isolate for one week if they’re deemed to be a close contact to the person who tested positive. If the affected team still has at least eight players available after the initial investigation, that team has continued playing its games as scheduled.

As Wojnarowski explains, today’s decision to postpone three Grizzlies games essentially means “parking a team and taking them out of circulation” once the club has a player test positive.

There’s no indication at this point that Memphis’ one positive case will result in a larger outbreak, but the league – which tightened many of its COVID-19 protocols last week – appears committed to minimizing the risk of creating a chain reaction among its teams.

If the NBA continues to err on the side of caution and takes teams off the schedule for several days at a time once a player tests positive, it would mean certain teams spend longer periods on the sidelines. However, the hope would be that fewer total teams would be affected by contact tracing and possible positive tests.

NBA Postpones Grizzlies’ Next Three Games

January 21st, 2021 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has postponed the Grizzlies‘ next three games, the league announced in a press release. Memphis is being affected by the NBA’s contact tracing protocols and, as a result, has a number of players unavailable.

The affected games are as follows:

Friday, January 22 at Portland vs. the Trail Blazers.
Sunday, January 24 at Memphis vs. the Kings.
Monday, January 25 at Memphis vs. the Kings.

The Grizzlies had been scheduled to play in Portland vs. the Blazers on Wednesday night, but that game had to be postponed as well.

As of Monday, Jonas Valanciunas was the only Grizzlies player who was ruled out due to the league’s health and safety protocols, with Jaren Jackson Jr., Justise Winslow, and Jontay Porter all sidelined due to injuries.

While the NBA’s contact tracing protocols have affected more players since Monday, it doesn’t sound as if those players have been asked to complete week-long quarantine periods yet, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski tweets that the COVID-19 exposure within the Grizzlies’ organization may be isolated, and that the league is “erring on the side of caution” by deciding to not have the team play its next few games as scheduled.

Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian adds (via Twitter) that the Grizzlies, for now at least, have just one active case of the coronavirus.

Following this series of postponements, the Grizzlies’ next game (vs. the Bulls) is set to be played on Wednesday, January 27 in Memphis. At that point, it will have been more than a week since the team was first affected by contact tracing. If there are no additional positive tests or other setbacks, that game shouldn’t be in jeopardy.

The NBA has now postponed 20 games in 2020/21, as seen in our tracker. The growing number of postponements will make it a challenge for certain teams to play a full 72-game season.

NBA Postponing Wednesday’s Blazers/Grizzlies Game

January 20th, 2021 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The game between the Trail Blazers and Grizzlies scheduled to be played in Portland on Wednesday is being postponed due to COVID-19 contact tracing, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

The Grizzlies, who last played on Monday night vs. Phoenix, are the team being affected by the contact tracing protocols, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The NBA, in officially announcing the postponement, confirmed that Memphis doesn’t have the league-mandated minimum of eight players available.

As of Monday, Jonas Valanciunas was the only Grizzlies player who was ruled out due to the league’s health and safety protocols — it’s not clear if today’s contact tracing is related to the veteran center, or if members of the team have had possible close contact with someone else who tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Blazers and Grizzlies are scheduled to play again in Portland on Friday, so unless the NBA’s contact tracing investigation resolves quickly, that game may be in danger of being pushed back as well.

This is the 16th NBA game so far during the 2020/21 season to be postponed. The full list can be found right here.

Protocols Force Valanciunas Out Of Action

January 18th, 2021 at 8:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas missed Monday’s game against the Suns due to the league’s health and safety protocols, the team’s PR department tweets. It’s uncertain how long Valanciunas will be sidelined. He was instructed to leave the bench area 10 days ago due to COVID-19 contact tracing but it turned out to be a “false alarm,” as Valanciunas described it. Rookie Xavier Tillman started in his place.

And-Ones: Franchise Valuations, G League, Two-Way Deals

January 18th, 2021 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re likely still a few weeks away from Forbes’ publication of its annual NBA franchise valuations, which are typically revealed during the first half of February. However, new sports-business website Sportico has gotten the jump on Forbes in 2021, trying its hand at projecting the values of all 30 NBA teams.

According to Peter J. Schwartz of Sportico, the average NBA franchise is worth nearly $2.4 billion. That projection dipped slightly as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, since teams around the league have missed out on anticipated revenues as a result of playing without fans. However, the fact that the NBA’s national revenues have remained relatively stable means Sportico’s projected valuations have only dipped about two percent.

In Sportico’s view, the Knicks ($5.42 billion), Warriors ($5.21 billion), and Lakers ($5.14 billion) are far and away the most valuable NBA franchises, followed by the Nets ($3.4 billion) at No. 4. The Pelicans ($1.35 billion), Grizzlies ($1.36 billion), and Timberwolves ($1.43 billion) are at the other end of the spectrum.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The NBA G League announced in December of 2019 that it would be expanding to Mexico City for 2020/21, but given the circumstances surrounding this season, the Capitanes franchise won’t be debuting now after all. While the league has been quiet about its plans for that Mexico-based franchise, the club is now expected to begin playing in the NBAGL in 2021/22, says Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Although most coaches and general managers around the NBA support the idea of giving teams a third two-way contract slot – an idea being discussed by the league and the players’ union – some would have liked to see a different tweak made to the two-way rules, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “We are in support of (the proposal),” a Western Conference GM said. “But (we) might prefer to have current two-ways with unlimited game-day restrictions.” Players on two-way contracts are limited to being active for 50 of 72 games this season.
In an interesting article for HoopsHype, Michael Scotto explores the “art of the smokescreen,” speaking to agents and team executives about why they might be motivated to leak information to reporters.

Southwest Notes: Morant, Mills, Ball, Tillman

January 17th, 2021 at 8:57pm CST by JD Shaw

Grizzlies star Ja Morant returned to the lineup on Saturday days ahead of his initial timetable, energizing his teammates and leading the club to a 106-104 victory over Philadelphia, Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes.

Morant suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain on Dec. 28 and was given a 3-to-5 week timeline, a brutal blow for a team already playing without Jaren Jackson Jr. In nearly 31 minutes against the Sixers, Morant finished with 17 points and six assists, shooting 7-of-14 from the floor.

“It was huge, in the fact that he wanted to come back so fast,” teammate Xavier Tillman said, as relayed by Bontemps. “For a guy who .. is a franchise kind-of-guy, they’re usually able to take their time and make sure they are 110 percent before they come back. I’m not saying he wasn’t 110 percent, but he was dying and itching to come back and help us win games.

“To see that from your head guy motivates everybody else, including me, being one of the rookies on the team. It’s like, ‘Hey man, forget nicks and bruises. The dude looked like he broke his ankle and he’s itching to get back. If I have nicks and bruises, I can play, and I can give my heart.'”

Here are some other notes from the Southwest Division tonight:

Spurs guard Patty Mills confirmed he plans to play for Australia in the Olympics, as relayed by ESPN (hat tip to Sportando). “Everyone who’s a part of that program right now, from the head coach all the way to the equipment manager, everyone’s gotta be locked in and feel the exact same way as we feel: determined, fire burning inside, desire to do everything we possibly can to win this gold medal,” Mills said.
Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy issued a brief injury update on Lonzo Ball, who’s currently dealing with bilateral knee tendinopathy. Though Ball didn’t practice on Saturday, Van Gundy is hopeful he can return relatively soon. “He says he feels a lot better,” Van Gundy said, as relayed by Jacob Rude of USA Today. “(He’s) really working hard on strengthening the muscles around that knee which seems to really help. I think he’s pretty optimistic about being able to come at full strength and pretty optimistic that’s (his return) is not in the distant, distant future. I think we’re talking more days to a week than we are weeks.”
Grizzlies forward Xavier Tillman also discussed his increased role with the team (as relayed by Evan Barnes of the Commercial Appeal). The rookie finished with 15 points and four steals off the bench on Saturday, proving his worth on both ends of the floor.

Pacific Notes: R. Jackson, Morris, Bjelica, Suns

January 16th, 2021 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Reggie Jackson gave the Clippers a solid performance Friday night in his first action since learning he was out of coach Tyronn Lue‘s reduced rotation, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Jackson contributed 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes after sitting out the previous two games. The 30-year-old guard, who will be a free agent after this season, was told last Saturday that he will no longer have guaranteed minutes every night.

“It was a hard conversation for me because I thought he was actually playing well,” Lue said. “But we couldn’t play all the guys, you know that coming into the season. … I talked to Reggie and he took it well. When you are a veteran and you’re a pro and you want to win, you do whatever it takes to try to win. I told him to stay ready, it’s a long season, with the COVID, injuries, things like that, you got to be ready.”

Jackson found out at Friday’s shootaround that he would be in the starting lineup, and Lue was happy that he didn’t try to do too much on his own. One highlight for Jackson was a rare dunk in the second half.

“Feels good, especially at 30, getting teased by my teammates, seeing an open lane and having a chance to attack,” Jackson said. “I had an injury-plagued past few years so just feeling like I’m getting my legs back under me and to feel somewhat 20 again, it felt great to go out there and get a dunk.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Clippers forward Marcus Morris says the NBA’s decision to begin the season in December threw off his recovery timeline, Greif adds in the same story. Morris said tendinitis prevented him from doing offseason workouts and he was timing his recovery for a January start. He remains on a minutes limit, but hasn’t had any trouble with his knees since training camp began.
The Kings haven’t used Nemanja Bjelica in their past three games, but the decision is only temporary, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Coach Luke Walton is experimenting with defensive rotations and has told Bjelica he will get another chance soon.
The Suns‘ last three games have been postponed due to health and safety protocols, but a league source told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic that Monday’s contest in Memphis “looks good to go.” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins is also optimistic that the game will be played. “All I know is that everything is kind of full go right now,” he said. “There’s some final checkmarks that need to be taken care of, obviously, for Phoenix to get back on track, but we’re all hopeful we are able to play on Monday.”