Longtime Celtic Marcus Smart is getting comfy together with his new staff the Grizzlies and is already making his mark within the locker room.
“It’s been great,” Smart stated at media day. “As they informed you already, I’ve been speaking protection in there with these guys, however you notice immediately that this can be a group of fellows which can be hungry. They need to win and are attempting to get higher. They’re asking me questions; we’re laughing and joking, however we’re excited.
“Just continue to be me. I’ve never been fake, and anyone who knows me understands that,” Smart stated. “By doing that, it allows that genuineness to come out. Figuring out the balance and everything else will work itself out.”
Memphis’ star participant Ja Morant will probably be serving a 25-game suspension to begin the 12 months, so Smart will probably be relied on closely throughout his first stint with the staff.
Without Ja, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane may want to step up.
Whatever occurs, head coach Taylor Jenkins is aware of he and his staff will want to be versatile whereas they wait for his or her star to return.
“We’ve never changed our philosophy and how we want to guard, how we want to play offense,” Jenkins stated. “We’re going to do a couple different things, especially offensively, where everybody has the opportunity to be a playmaker. Obviously, (Ja) is a huge part of the engine and a primary playmaker for us, but he and I talked about it as we go into camp. It’s a unique situation. I envision training camp having different starting lineups — he probably won’t be with the first group.”
Another new Grizzly, veteran Derrick Rose, has made his intentions clear about his relationship with the 24-year-old.
“I’m not here to babysit, I’m not here to follow you around, I’m not here to cheerlead,” Rose stated. “I’m here to push you. In the league, there are very few opportunities where players get a chance to play with somebody that has a similar style of play. I’m very fortunate to be in a situation where a lot of people look at his game and they kind of compare our games together. But he’s on a whole other level.”
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