The Memphis Grizzlies intend to keep interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff for the remainder of the season, general manager Chris Wallace announced today, according to Kevin Lipe of The Memphis Flyer.
Bickerstaff has been in this position before at the wake of Kevin McHale's firing from the Houston Rockets, assuming the role immediately after practice was canceled, rolling into his new job only hours later with a game ahead.
The 38-year-old coach noted this is a hard step to take, given his friendship with the recently-fired David Fizdale, who he's known since he was 17, and was present in his wedding.
Bickerstaff is put into a tough position, as the Grizzlies have lost their last eight games and their schedule doesn't get any easier the following weeks, facing the San Antonio Spurs twice and Western Conference hopefuls like the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder — teams that can extend the losing streak even further.
Yet he's approached the situation with a sense of optimism that this team can turn it around together, according to Lipe. Bickerstaff noted his changes would be rather simple tweaks, building on the foundation set in place during the offseason.
But the new helmsman ultimately started things with a different foot than Fizdale ended it, giving his ultimate vote of confidence in star center Marc Gasol moving forward.
“We need him to be Marc Gasol,” he said, as the 7-foot-1 big man was benched through the fourth quarter of the Grizzlies' latest loss to the Brooklyn Nets — one that spelled Fizdale's last day as the head coach.
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