Second-year Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni has been around the NBA long enough to know how to send a subtle but effective message.
And because he hasn't given a lot of fourth-quarter minutes so far this year to starting point guard Mike Conley, his message is clear. "Coach has been challenging me to be more aggressive," said Conley, who's in his second year after being taken fourth overall in the 2007 draft.
From Iavaroni's standpoint, backup point guard Kyle Lowry is downright fearless in his aggressiveness, especially pushing the ball on offense. So he has gotten key minutes.
"Kyle is playing with more energy and physicality so I'm going with him," Iavaroni said.
Conley said he's getting the message and is working to correct it as the Grizzlies started the first of a four-game West Coast road trip on Wednesday night at Sacramento.
"I look at this as a challenge," Conley said. "I've taken it to heart. I do need to be more aggressive and more in attack mode. Maybe I need to shoot a little bit more, try to be aggressive offensively and defensively. I need to make guys run with me. If I'm the only one running somebody will start running with me eventually."
KINGS 100, GRIZZLIES 95: Rudy Gay got in early foul trouble and without their go-to-guy, the Grizzlies seemed to wander in a fog until the game's final six minutes. That's when they came from 19 points down with an 18-3 run that cut the Sacramento lead to 95-91 with 58.8 seconds left. But the Grizzlies couldn't complete the comeback. Getting outshot by Sacramento 52.7 percent to 43.7 percent and getting outscored 44-24 in the paint was too much for the Grizzlies to overcome on the road.
