Grizzlies Interim Coach Criticizes NBA Scheduling in Final Week of Playoff Push

Memphis had a quick turnaround after losing to the Timberwolves on Thursday.

Memphis Grizzlies interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo and guard Ja Morant react after a foul call. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Memphis Grizzlies suffered a tough loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night to complicate their NBA playoff standings.

With just two games left in the regular season, every game really counts right now for the Grizzlies, especially as they now hold the same record as the Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors. Their final two games are against the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks, who are also playing to solidify their seeds in the playoffs.

So, the Grizzlies definitely need their rest when preparing for these final two games. However, after Thursday night's late end in Memphis, the Grizzlies traveled to Denver ahead of Friday's matchup vs. the Nuggets. The team arrived at their hotel after 4 a.m. MT, and therefore, didn't get enough rest ahead of the Nuggets game. Interim coach Tuomas Iisalo complained about this on Thursday night.

“It seems unreasonable to expect top-level performance in—what do we have?—less than 20 hours to start another game, a very, very important game," Iisalo said, via The Daily Memphian's Drew Hill.

This quick turnaround is not a new concept in the NBA by any means—the league has been moving towards lessening the amount of back-to-backs teams have to play in any given season for several years now. But given the stakes of the games this late in the season, it’s not surprising that Iisalo may be frustrated a bit more by this bit of scheduling than a back-to-back in, say, January.

All the games count the same, but the ones at the end of the season sure feel like they count more.

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