Memphis Grizzlies Head Coach fined $30,000

Harrison Downard

After the Grizzlies loss to the Spurs on Monday night, head coach, David Fizdale blasted the referees. With the 14-point loss, the Grizzlies fell behind in the series 0-2. Fizdale said Wednesday he knew the fine was coming, but he needed to take a stand. Sparked by the fact that the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard converted more free throws than the entire Grizzlies team attempted, Fizdale was lit up in the post-game conference. According to him, the officiating from Danny Crawford, Rodney Mott and Bill Spooner was “unprofessional” and “unacceptable.” The conference was highlighted by these worlds from Fizdale, “I know Pop’s [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] got pedigree, and I’m a young rookie. But they’re not gonna rook us. That’s unacceptable. That was unprofessional. Our guys dug in that game and earned the right to be in that game. And they did not even give us a chance.” Slamming the paper and pen on the table, he left with the words, “Take that for data!” Consequently, the NBA fined the young Grizzlies coach $30,000. The next day, the players were quick to proclaim they’d pay the fine. It’s evident that no player has been more dominant in the playoffs than Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard. In the first two games, she’s shot 20-28 from the floor and 28-28 from the foul line. Despite Leonard’s irrefutable performance, no other event has drawn as much attention to the series as David Fizdale’s comments towards the officials. Not to mention, the series now has a hashtag: #TakeThatForData.