Talented Grizzlies must grow up this offseason after playoff flameout against Lakers
The Memphis Grizzlies’ noise to success ratio is not even.
It’s lopsided, not in a good way. At least in the 2023 NBA playoffs.
A lot of chatter emits from the second-seeded Grizzlies when times are good (not so much when times are bad), and they don’t have anything to show for it this season except a first-round loss to the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in a six-game Western Conference series.
The NBA's most unlikable team talked a big game, talked a lot of trash and with the series and their season on the line, they wilted, suffocated by the Lakers and overwhelmed by the moment in the bright lights of Los Angeles’s Crypto.com Arena.
Game 6 on Friday was barely a game, a 125-85 Lakers victory.
Since the NBA went from a five-game to a seven-game series in the first round in 2003, a seventh seed has beaten a second seed once – San Antonio over Dallas in 2010.
What went wrong in Game 6: Lakers annihilate Grizzlies in Game 6 to knock out Western Conference's No. 2 seed
No one mistook Los Angeles for a typical No. 7 seed, not with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and a revamped roster that played much better after the trade deadline.
Instead of recognizing that, Memphis' Dillon Brooks opened his mouth before the series began. “I wouldn't mind playing LeBron in a seven-game series,” Brooks said. “The legacy is there. First time back in the playoffs, knock him out right away.”
An amount of confidence necessary, especially in the NBA. The game devours the unconfident.
But Brooks didn’t stop there. After Memphis’ Game 2 victory, which tied the series, Brooks called James old, said he doesn’t respect anyone who doesn’t score 40 on him and likes to poke bears.
He’s not the first to do it, but he poked the wrong bear.
Los Angeles won the next two games, and Brooks was ejected from Game 3 for a one-handed shot to James’ groin area.
Before Game 4, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said, “We’re far from where we need to be from a maturity standpoint.” Jenkins also referenced the Grizzlies' difficult season, noting it was tough in March, the month star guard Ja Morant showed off a gun in a Colorado strip club, resulting in a suspension.
Brooks declined to talk with reporters after Game 3, and Brooks and Morant didn’t speak with reporters after Game 4.
Beside ignoring league rules, it is a horrible look. It shows a lack of accountability and is disrespectful to teammates, who have to answer questions they didn’t want to face.
“You can’t talk the talk and then not walk the walk,” ESPN analyst and former NBA player Richard Jefferson said.
Basketball karma hammered Brooks. James didn’t score 40 points but he had a 20-point, 20-rebound game, and the Lakers won the series finale by 40.
As a group and with some individuals, the Grizzlies are without self-awareness. “The media making me a villain, the fans making me a villain, that just creates another persona on me,” Brooks said.
The media and fans did not make him the villain.
Here’s the twist.
The Grizzlies should be one of the most likable teams in the league. They have one of the most talented, exciting players in the league in Morant. Jaren Jackson Jr. is this season’s Defensive Player of the Year. The team was built through the draft – Morant, Jackson, Desmond Bane, Brandon Clarke and Xavier Tillman were Grizzlies selections. They added through trades and free agency. Jenkins can coach. It’s a small-market team that could compete for a championship. They should be celebrated.
Now, being liked or disliked has nothing to do with actually winning, and that's part of the growth process for many young teams.
But the most important work in front of the Grizzlies this offseason isn’t on the court. It’s growing up.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Memphis Grizzlies must grow up following playoff disaster vs. Lakers
