Full-court sprints and inhalers: Grizzlies put their trust in Tuomas Iisalo to bring about a new era

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis coach Tuomas Iisalo told the Grizzlies as they left last spring to be ready to play faster when they returned.

Now they see just how fast Iisalo wants the Grizzlies moving.

“We all might need inhalers,” two-time All-Star Ja Morant said. ”You know what you need an inhaler for? That tells you everything you need to know.”

Iisalo didn’t get the chance over the last nine games of the regular season or through Memphis’ first-round loss to eventual NBA champ Oklahoma City to change up much for the Grizzlies. But they quickly took off his interim tag. The Grizzlies spent the summer retooling the roster around their pair of two-time All-Stars in Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.

They traded Desmond Bane for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and four first-round draft picks. They brought back forward Santi Aldama, traded up in the draft for guard Cedric Coward at No. 11 and took guard Javon Small. Memphis brought in veterans like center Jock Landale and guard Ty Jerome.

“We’re trying to reach the highest level of the NBA, an NBA that’s changing in 2025 of the style of play and the build of a roster that you’re seeing reach the highest end outcomes,” general manager Zach Kleiman said.

Part of that included trusting Iisalo to take over after Memphis frittered away a top-tier seed in the Western Conference. They played their way to the No. 8 seed before being swept by the Thunder.

Morant said the Grizzlies spent the offseason working to be ready for what he called the toughest first day of training camp he’s had yet going into his seventh NBA season. The true test starts Oct. 22 when Memphis hosts New Orleans in the season opener.

“Do I think it can last a whole season?” Morant said. “Probably. Probably so if we just keep it up.”

Coward, who played only six games at Washington last season, got his clue of what the Grizzlies wanted during his pre-draft workouts: “I mean, they had me doing full-court sprints and running as I do in the games.”

Memphis led the NBA last season with the fastest pace of 103.69 possessions per 48 minutes, so improving on that might be a bit challenging. The phrase “speed kills” is being used as part mantra and part desired play style.

Iisalo sees it as a philosophy of how he wants his Grizzlies to be fast at everything, including pace of play. He doesn’t want to waste anyone’s time, not in a league with little time to recover before the next game.

“It’s also the decision-making, quick decision making in different situations,” Iisalo said. “And generally, if you can be the faster party, it’s going to be very difficult for the other team to keep up with you.”

On defense, Iisalo wants the Grizzlies to get their defensive rating as low as possible, rebound better, protect the rim and generally be difficult to play against. Iisalo recalled an Italian soccer coach’s team being compared to visiting a dentist.

“It should be an unpleasant experience,” Iisalo said.

That would fit in Memphis’ proud tradition of grit and grind. Landale remembers too well tough nights feeling like a dog fight as the visitor playing the Grizzlies.

“It’s one that I think fits my personality, my play style a lot,” Landale said.

The Grizzlies sure went fast during three days of training camp at Belmont University in Nashville.

Scotty Pippen Jr. said he thinks that could make games easier and force opponents into errors.

“We’ll make the other team play faster,” Pippen said.

Turnovers were a problem last season for Memphis as the Grizzlies pushed the ball up the court. Only six teams had a worse turnover ratio.

They know there may be some sloppiness early, but Pippen said creating more takeaways could improve the ratio.

The Grizzlies have injuries in the frontcourt with Jackson a question mark for the start of the season. Center Zach Edey likely won’t be available until November, and Brandon Clarke just had surgery Sept. 29 for right knee synovitis. Morant sprained his left ankle on Oct. 5, but hopes to be ready for the opener.

Caldwell-Pope is the Grizzlies’ most experienced player in his 13th season. He said he loves the fast pace and thinks it fits his style of play and complements a relatively young Grizzlies roster.

“The way we’re going I think we can be back at on top of the West,” Caldwell-Pope said. “With how fast we want to play, the chemistry we building in here and just us playing together is going to be key.”

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AP freelance writer Clay Bailey in Memphis contributed to this report.

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