Grizzlies coach David Fizdale goes on expensive rant towards referees after Game 2 loss vs. Spurs

The Grizzlies went down 0-2 against the Spurs on Monday night. It was a hard fought game for Memphis in which it was down 26 points and got within four in the fourth quarter but could ultimately not close the deal.

It’s hard to beat the Spurs and Memphis coach Dave Fizdale knows that. But what he’s not happy about is the officiating in the game. The Spurs got twice as many free throws than the Grizzlies over the course of the game. Not only did they get twice as many, Kawhi Leonard had 19 of those, more than the entire Grizzlies team combined. Needless to say, Fizdale was not happy.

Fizdale laid out several arguments in his press conference, including the fact that in the first half the Grizzlies had 19 shots in the paint but only six free throws, while the Spurs had 11 shots in the paint but had 23 free throws. He followed up by saying, “I’m not a numbers guy but that doesn’t seem to add up.”

Those numbers only got bigger in the second half, as the Grizzlies shot 35 times in the paint but only took 15 free throws, while the Spurs shot 18 times in the paint yet took 32 free throws. Fizdale became increasingly unhappy as spoke, saying, “Kawhi shot more free throws than our whole team. Explain it to me.”

If you were thinking that Fizdale may be teetering on if he’ll get a fine or not, this part should end that discussion.

“It’s unfortunate that I got a guy like Mike Conley who in whole career has zero technical fouls. He just cannot seem to get the proper respect from the officials that he deserves. We don’t get the respect that these guys deserve because Mike Conley doesn’t go crazy. He has class, and he just plays the game, but I’m not gonna let them treat us that way. I know Pop has pedigree and I’m a young rookie but they’re not gonna ‘rook’ us. That’s unacceptable that was unprofessional. My guys dug in that game and earned to be in that game but they did not even give us a chance. Take that for data.”

There were a definitely a few questionable missed calls by the referees, including this three-pointer from Mike Conley.

This shouldn’t be a knock at the Spurs themselves. The Spurs are one of the more well-composed teams in the league and Leonard does a great job of getting to the free throw line. It’s just that the Grizzlies certainly had moments where a foul call was warranted on the Spurs.

Fiz, that was a marvelous press conference but get your check book out. You will be writing a check to the league for this one.