Memphis Grizzlies Team Meeting Gets Physical After Pistons Loss, Report Claims

The Memphis Grizzlies lost their eighth game in their last 10 encounters when they went down 101-94 to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night and for the first time this season fell below the .500 mark.

J.B. Bickerstaff’s team are now 18-19 for the season and are currently in 10th place in the Western Conference. They are currently on a downward spiral and the head coach was at a loss to give a clear explanation during the post-game press conference.

The Grizzlies are said to have held a post-game meeting in the locker room to address their current slide and it is said to have got ugly with two veterans clashing, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

“The Memphis Grizzlies' emotional team meeting after loss to Detroit tonight turned physical in an altercation between veterans Garrett Temple and Omri Casspi in locker room, league sources tell,” Charania wrote on his personal Twitter account.

According to Commercial Appeal, Bickerstaff arrived at his post-game press conference 35 minutes after the final buzzer looking “emotionally spent”. He admitted they needed to address the larger issues rather than just the result against the Pistons on Wednesday night and revealed that a few concerns were addressed.

"I think addressing larger issues was the conversation that we needed to have," Bickerstaff said. "Right now, it's not X's and O's that need to be resolved. I think we resolved some of those issues tonight."

The report claims that most of the players had left the locker room by the time the local media were allowed in 45 minutes after the game. Mike Conley and Marc Gasol were said to be the only players remaining.

Gasol, the team veteran, confirmed that a team meeting had taken place, but made no mention about an altercation between players. He simply stated it was a meeting to fix the problems that have seen them lose 8-out-of-10.

The three-time NBA All-Star, who has been with the Gizzlies now for a decade, wants to be a better leader to his teammates. He revealed he will be more vocal going forward as they look to get back to winning ways.

“We were openly sharing our thoughts and trying to fix the situation and getting back into being a really good basketball team together and doing the things we need to do consistently to win games," Gasol said.

“I think it’s needed, and guys expect that," he added talking about being more vocal. "I’ve worked on not being that critical with my teammates, because in the past it creates some problems. But now it’s going to change a little bit.”