Memphis coach David Fizdale went on a rant Monday night following the Grizzlies' loss in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Spurs. After trailing by 25 late in the first half, the Grizzlies cut the deficit to just five points late in the fourth quarter.
There was nothing left in the tank at that point, however, as the Spurs pulled away in the final minutes, winning 96-82 thanks to a postseason career-high 37 points from Kawhi Leonard, who shot 19 free throws.
Leonard's huge night at the line was one of the reasons Fizdale was so upset. The Grizzlies shot just 15 free throws and during the postgame press conference, Fizdale made his feelings known, raising his voice multiple times during his rant and saying it was a "poorly officiated game."
His full comments, which are worth watching for the strong delivery, are below:
'It's unfortunate that I've got a guy like Mike Conley, who in his whole career's got zero technical fouls. And just cannot seem to get the proper respect from the officials that he deserves. It was a very poorly officiated basketball game. Zach Randolph, the most rugged guy in the game, had zero free throws, but somehow Kawhi Leonard had 19 free throws. First half we shot 19 shots in the paint and we had six free throws. They shot 11 times in the paint and had 23 free throws. Not a numbers guy, but that doesn't seem to add up. Overall, 35 times we shot the ball in the paint, we had 15 free throws for the game. They shot 18 times in the paint and had 32 free throws, Kawhi shot more free throws than our whole team. Explain it to me. 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's got pedigree, and I'm a young rookie, but they 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. Take that for data! *Slams his hand on the table*
Fizdale went off... #Grizzlies #Spurs pic.twitter.com/qyzLvXZETi
— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) April 18, 2017
The "take that for data!" to close things out was brilliant.
If you're going to get fined for criticizing the refs, you might as well earn it, and Fizdale certainly did just that.