Grizzlies Head Coach Shuts Down A New Narrative About His Group

Things have gotten heated in the second round between the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors.

The first game of the series saw Draymond Green being ejected for a flagrant foul against Brandon Clarke.

In Game 2, it was Memphis’ turn for an ejection when Dillon Brooks was kicked out for a hard foul against Gary Payton II, a move that led to Payton being sidelined for the next few weeks.

Because of the severity of that foul, some people started calling the Grizzlies a dirty team.

The Grizzlies aren’t having any of it.

"We're the furthest thing from dirty, we're competitive."

— Taylor Jenkins on the narrative that the Grizzlies are "dirty"

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— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 5, 2022

Head coach Taylor Jenkins is rejecting the idea that his team is “dirty.”

While wishing Payton a speedy recovery, Jenkins also shot down the concept of his team being overly aggressive.

“We’re the furthest thing from dirty. We’re competitive,” Jenkins said.

This statement won’t stop the claims of Memphis being dirty, especially from Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.

Breaking The Code

Following the hard foul against Payton, Kerr railed against Brooks.

He was the first person to use the word “dirty” and then later said that Brooks “broke the code” and put Payton at serious risk.

Green also piled on about the foul and applauded when Brooks was suspended.

The Grizzlies aren’t usually known as a “dirty” team – or even a very physical one.

But they have turned it up in the playoffs, a sign of just how much they want to prove themselves in the postseason.

There is a lot of serious fight inside this Memphis team and they will push themselves – and their opponents – as hard as they can.

However, that’s no excuse for the foul against Payton.