The Memphis Grizzlies have fired head coach Taylor Jenkins after almost six years with the franchise. The news of the sack came as a shock to the NBA world because most franchises don’t fire their coach with only ten games left in the season.
Taylor was a coach with a printable impact. He rose Memphis from the ashes and carried the team for consecutive seasons.
This is the second time in NBA history that a team would fire their coach with less than ten games left. The first time was in 1983 when the Brooklyn Net fired Larry Brown. Maybe Jenkins had to go.
Something was not clicking this season. This season, the Grizzlies had recorded the worst run of Jenkin’s through his almost-six-years tenure. It was crazy. They have not been able to hold it down against any big team this season, or better still, let the margin remain a single digit. All their defeats have come with double digits, which is not encouraging.
The Grizzlies have struggled with every team over .500. They are yet to find balance in their game, and it’s reflected in their overall performance this season.
Before joining the Grizzlies, Jenkins was an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks. So, when he came in 2019, he had already garnered enough experience but had no experience heading the big teams. But he was determined to find a way.
In his first season in Memphis, Jenkins had Morant, who was one of the best players to be drafted. However, the injury spread like a cankerworm in his team. Morant had gotten injured and was also banned for 25 games. Guard Desmond Bane was not better as he had to deal with a left ankle sprain. A few more players also missed a considerable amount of time due to injuries.
However, things started turning around in the next season, and the next one. Then Jenkins recorded his highest game win a season.
Before Jenkins was fired, the Grizzlies were dealing with various injuries and illnesses.
