Calkins: Memorable night at FedExForum ruined by Mike Conley heel turn
It was a wonderfully unruly night as playoff basketball returned to FedExForum Saturday. Until our old friend Mike Conley ruined everything.
It was a wonderfully unruly night as playoff basketball returned to FedExForum Saturday. Until our old friend Mike Conley ruined everything.
Four years after the last NBA playoff game at FedExForum, more than 10,000 Memphians will convene Saturday to celebrate a new era of postseason basketball in the city. This team might be even more audacious than that one. Just read the Growl Towels.
No, the Grizzlies won’t have a full house for Saturday’s Game 3 against the Jazz. But that’s no reason to be angry. Buy a ticket and soak it in. The Grizzlies will have more people in the building Saturday than since before the pandemic. It’ll feel like playoff basketball is supposed to feel.
Memphis didn’t win Game 2 in Utah Wednesday. But any Grizzlies fan who watched the game had to be pumped. The Grizzlies now have home-court advantage and the best player in the series. Saturday night at FedExForum should be wild.
Dillon Brooks is just crazy enough to think the Grizzlies can beat the Utah Jazz. Which is exactly what they did Sunday night.
When Mike Conley was traded to the Utah Jazz, everyone said the trade was “win-win.” But nobody expected the Grizzlies would do this much winning, this soon.
The incandescent Morant and the Grizzlies traveled to California and knocked off Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. It may not have been the biggest upset in Grizzlies postseason history. But it was a beautiful night.
The Grizzlies won the first postseason game of the NextGen era Wednesday night. It was an important moment for the new edition of the Grizzlies. But that’s not all it was.
Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors taught the Grizzlies some painful lessons Sunday. Let’s hope Ja Morant and the rest of the Grizzlies take those to heart.
OK, their bridge is more famous. And their team is more famous. But here’s why the Grizzlies can beat the Warriors — and claim eighth place in the Western Conference — in Sunday’s Battle of the Bridges.
The Grizzlies defeated the Kings Thursday to set up a game against the Warriors for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. So take a load off, Grizzlies. It’s one of the biggest regular-season games in franchise history.
The Grizzlies are in the play-in! The Grizzlies are in the play-in! And if that doesn’t merit a champagne shower, it’s a real accomplishment. Just look at the New Orleans Pelicans.
When Susie Espinosa went to the emergency room last May, she prayed she’d be home to her three children soon. Instead, she spent eight weeks in a coma. Her recovery — supported by an ICU nurse who’s also a mom — is a testament to the power of perseverance and love.
People rolled their eyes when Arnold Perl said FedExForum would be built on time and on budget. And he was right. Perl died this week at the age of 81. He leaves behind a better and more optimistic city.Related story:
Sure, there was a rain delay. But after 610 days and nights without baseball in Memphis, what’s another two hours? It was a wet (but glorious!) night at AutoZone Park as the Redbirds made their return.
After an eight-year drought, Memphis Pom won a national championship in hip-hop. The inside story of how Memphis reclaimed its spot atop the dance universe.
After Wednesday’s humiliating loss to Portland, the Grizzlies have 11 games to stake their claim to the playoffs. It’s time to stop screwing around with the rotation — and play the guys who will win.
Ja Morant issued a call for Grizzlies fans to come to FedExForum for the team’s playoff push. It has been a tricky year for in-person attendance. But more and more fans are trickling back.
On the sixth anniversary of the game in which the Portland Trail Blazers broke Mike Conley’s face, the Grizzlies swept the evil Blazers (and reminded us how intense NBA basketball can be).
Grizzlies owner Robert Pera contributed $10,000 to a GoFundMe for LaVelt Hill, a longtime usher at FedExForum who needs a kidney transplant. The fundraiser is a tribute to Hill and the team’s extended family.
Nearly eight years after K.J. Lawson committed to Memphis, his two younger brothers are headed there, too. It’s an improbable twist in a messy basketball saga. May it end in the NCAA Tournament.
Jaren Jackson Jr. returned to play for the Grizzlies Wednesday night. That’s the good news. The bad news was the rest of the game.
If Penny Hardaway gets Memphis to the NCAA Tournament next season, he won’t do it with a glittering collection of one-and-dones. He’ll do it with players like Williams, who don’t need all of the smoke.
A massive crowd showed up to the Liberty Bowl Friday night to celebrate Memphis football — and the return of life as normal. Friday Night Stripes: Tigers offer glimpse of QB race, defense’s workRelated story:
Luka Doncic hit a last-second miracle shot to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night. But don’t let anyone tell you it was a heartbreaker. It was not. Related stories: