Subscribe
Follow Us
The Memphis Grizzlies suffered the worst loss in franchise history, yet their players could hardly be bothered to care about such an embarrassing outcome.
According to a report by Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, the Grizzlies players joked and laughed in the locker room shortly after a 61-point loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. Neither coach J.B. Bickerstaff nor center Marc Gasol (who did not play in the game) were present when that took place.
Bickerstaff commented on the loss, which was the worse in Grizzlies franchise history as well as the Hornets' widest margin of victory.
Article Continues Below
“One thing when you’ve got a bunch of young guys is they don’t understand what it takes to survive in this league,” Bickerstaff said. “If you want to make it there’s a matter of bounce-back, a matter of pride, a matter of mental toughness that you have to show on every given night and every opportunity you get. What happened tonight… there’s no defending the way we played.
“You believe because there’s opportunities you can get out there, do whatever you want and it’s my turn to play. Everything in this league is hard earned. If you’re not willing to make that sacrifice then you shouldn’t be in this league. If you can’t prove to people that that’s what you’re about then you won’t be in this league.”
Sulking over a loss won't do any good, especially when a team is put forward with clear intentions to tank, but losing and getting throttled by a non-playoff team are two different things.
The fact that most players won't bat an eye after such a statement made by the Hornets is just proof of how different this Grizzlies roster is from the days of the Grit N' Grind era of Zach Randolph and Tony Allen — two players that wouldn't have let a peep sound off after such a statement loss.
