Zbo flourishes in his new role

Quick dribbles on Grizzlies 121-91 win over the Sixers

1) Zach Randolph can still ball. In 17 minutes of play, Zbo was 6-of-9 from the field with 17 points and eight rebounds. Zbo also was impressive at the perimeter by going 4-of-6 from the three-point line.

2) Troy Williams led the Grizzlies with 22 points (8-of-13) off the bench. He also chipped in seven rebounds and two steals. Williams also went 2-of-3 from the three point line.

3) JaMychal Green garnered a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

4) Mike Conley added 17 points (6-of-10), six assists and two steals for the night.

5) James Ennis continues to have solid performances for the Grizz in preseason action. Ennis chipped in 15 points and three rebounds while going 6-of-9 from the field.

6) The Grizzlies ended the night shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from the three-point range. The Grizzlies converted on 13 three pointers.

 

Quotables

Coach Fizz

Opening statement:

“I was really happy with the bounce back and the execution. We answered the bell. We let go of the rope in the second quarter but I kind of got after the veterans on that one, and they came out and answered the bell and it carried into our second unit, and I was really happy about that. We had some lapses defensively but overall I think we were pretty connected and obviously our offense was really clicking tonight. The pace was great. Our bigs – it was really good to see them get some threes off and get some confidence from there. Our young guys made the switch from last game. I was really looking for that. They caved in the game before and then they came out tonight and really tried to do what we asked them to do so that was an improvement from last time.”

 

On the frontcourt shooting threes:

“Those are great shots. I don’t think we necessarily had a bad three from any of our big guys, and Z-Bo got rolling. I even ran a play for him out of timeout because he got so hot from there. I just want them to feel very confident. I don’t want them thinking about it. If they’re open I want them to let it go. You can see it really helped Mike. Mike Conley really made a living in the paint tonight in getting to the rim and pushing the pace. He had some fun tonight and that’s what I want from him. For him to have 17 and six in 21 minutes, that’s pretty good numbers. It won’t be that way every night and that’s why I got a little upset because the second quarter, we were just thinking we were going to live off of our offense and we stopped defending. The defense has to be constant because you’re not always going to make shots. We just have to keep improving in that area and understand that we are a defensive team first.”

 

Zach Randolph

On how much he’ll play on the perimeter:
“Whatever the coach needs me to do, I’m going to do. Like an iguana, I’m going to adapt. Just go out there and play. Whatever I can do to help this team, help my players, my teammates. Whatever I need to do, that’s what I’m going to do. Just go out there and play hard, first and foremost.”

On the trend of frontcourt players playing more on the perimeter:

“You got your personnel, you got guys who shoot. You still got your traditional big men. That’s the way it’s going to be, and guys are going to work on threes, work on the perimeter game.”

 

Marc Gasol

On the team’s new playing style:
“Obviously it’s different than what we’re used to. We have some habits that we’ve built over the years that are a little different than that, but like I said, it’s the way we’re going right now and we’ve all got to believe in it. It’s not just accepting your new role. It’s not just accepting that your teammates are going to play a little different. You’ve got to believe in it. When you only accept it, eventually, if the team goes bad, you’re probably going to say, you know what, you’re unhappy with this and that. You’re going to make excuses out of it. You want to really believe in it and compete, and we do.”

 

On shooting three-pointers:

“We practice it. We practice it a lot. Obviously, you find ways to know when to shoot it, when not to shoot it. You can’t be just jacking threes. It keeps the defender honest and makes them aware that you are there and ready to shoot. You just have to be ready to shoot it, have your legs ready. We practice every day. We shoot and we shoot and we shoot. Hopefully that’s going to play into the game and we’ll make a lot of threes.”

 

Next up:

The Grizzlies face the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Thursday, October 13, 2016 at 7:00 pm.