The first game of the Tuomas Iisalo era is in the books, and there will be plenty for Grizzlies fans to unpack.
Memphis lost 134-127 to the Lakers on Saturday night at FedExForum in the first game after Taylor Jenkins was fired and Iisalo was installed as interim coach. While Iisalo said pregame that he didn't expect to make major changes, Lakers coach JJ Redick said pregame he noticed a few tweaks.
"They ran a little bit of off-ball stuff that, we obviously had that stuff in our scout, but they ran a little bit more than I can remember, watching them play," Redick said. "I could be wrong on that, I don't have the exact possession breakdown of actions. Particularly with (Scotty) Pippen, the way they just get the ball out and he gets them into early offense, that drive and kick game of theirs, that was very similar.
"They ran a lot of the Iverson stuff, their loop play. But yeah, probably the off-ball stuff was the only thing. Primarily Luke (Kennard) and (Desmond) Bane were in that loop with Jaren (Jackson Jr.)."
Redick said pregame that he expected to see more pick and roll actions from the Grizzlies. Iisalo installed center Zach Edey into the starting lineup after three games where Edey came off the bench, and he responded with his first double-double in a month. He ran multiple pick and roll actions with Ja Morant, something that has been missing for most of this season.
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura said they'd talked pregame about expecting extra energy from Memphis.
"We talked about it," he said. "When they change the head coach, they're always trying to play harder. And we knew they were going to try to get this one. We just fought through the whole game."
But the Grizzlies started slow, trailing by double digits after the first quarter as defense continued to be an issue. Memphis fought back and made the game competitive down the stretch before the Lakers pulled away in the fourth quarter.
"Very simple," Iisalo said postgame. "A lot of times you don't know what happened during the game, really, before you watch the video. But I can already say we failed at the basics in the first half. Got to do a better job with those."
Memphis has only eight regular-season games left, so it's unlikely there will be time for any major scheme changes. The Grizzlies and Lakers entered Saturday's game tied for fourth in the Western Conference, but Memphis is now only a game and half ahead of the play-in.
And the schedule won't make it any easier. The Grizzlies are back in action on Monday for a back-to-back against the Celtics and Warriors.
"I think we're on the right path with this," Iisalo said. "But it will take some time."
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal:
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