Latest news with #TuomasIisalo
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NBA playoffs: Ja Morant exits Thunder-Grizzlies Game 3 with hip injury, status uncertain for Game 4
The Memphis Grizzlies were finally flying high in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then Ja Morant came down with a thud. The All-Star exited Thursday's game with an apparent injury after landing hard on his hip in the second quarter in a 114-108 loss. He was jumping for a basket on a 2-on-1 breakaway when he got undercut by the Thunder guard Luguentz Dort. The play was reviewed for a flagrant foul, but remained a common foul on Dort. Oh man. Ja Morant down on the court in pain after being undercut by Lu Dort. — eric (@EricTweetsNBA) April 25, 2025 Morant was visibly in pain, but remained in the game long enough to shoot his free throws and missed both, then headed straight for the locker room. Had he not shot them, he would have been ineligible to return to the game. Despite Morant toughing it out, the Grizzlies later ruled him out for the rest of the game with a hip injury. He was later spotted on crutches in the tunnel in the fourth quarter of the contest, per ESPN. After the game, Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo said Morant's status for Saturday's game was uncertain and that he would undergo further evaluation Friday. It's the second time this postseason Morant has faced an injury, as he exited the Grizzlies' first play-in game last week after rolling his ankle. That was only the start of the bad news for the Grizzlies. After entering halftime with a 26-point lead, the team blew the advantage in historic fashion as the Thunder grabbed a 3-0 advantage in the series, effectively ending their season.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NBA playoffs: Ja Morant exits Thunder-Grizzlies Game 3 with hip injury, status uncertain for Game 4
The Memphis Grizzlies were finally flying high in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then Ja Morant came down with a thud. The All-Star exited Thursday's game with an apparent injury after landing hard on his hip in the second quarter in a 114-108 loss. He was jumping for a basket on a 2-on-1 breakaway when he got undercut by the Thunder guard Luguentz Dort. The play was reviewed for a flagrant foul, but remained a common foul on Dort. Oh man. Ja Morant down on the court in pain after being undercut by Lu Dort. — eric (@EricTweetsNBA) April 25, 2025 Morant was visibly in pain, but remained in the game long enough to shoot his free throws and missed both, then headed straight for the locker room. Had he not shot them, he would have been ineligible to return to the game. Despite Morant toughing it out, the Grizzlies later ruled him out for the rest of the game with a hip injury. He was later spotted on crutches in the tunnel in the fourth quarter of the contest, per ESPN. After the game, Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo said Morant's status for Saturday's game was uncertain and that he would undergo further evaluation Friday. It's the second time this postseason Morant has faced an injury, as he exited the Grizzlies' first play-in game last week after rolling his ankle. That was only the start of the bad news for the Grizzlies. After entering halftime with a 26-point lead, the team blew the advantage in historic fashion as the Thunder grabbed a 3-0 advantage in the series, effectively ending their season.
Fox News
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Tuomas Iisalo hired as Grizzlies coach after taking over at season's end
Tuomas Iisalo, who was appointed interim coach of the Memphis Grizzlies in the waning days of the regular season, was named the team's coach for next season, the organization announced Friday. Terms of Iisalo's contract were not released. He joined the team as the lead assistant this past season. Iisalo took over the team on March 28 after the Grizzlies returned home from an 0-5 road trip, the last loss coming at Oklahoma City. The road trip led to the firing of Taylor Jenkins, the winningest coach in Grizzlies franchise history. Iisalo, a native of Finland, was 4-5 in the final nine games of the regular season. Memphis split two games in the play-in tournament, earning the eighth seed to face Oklahoma City, to whom they lost all four games. Before joining the Grizzlies, Iisalo served one season as coach of Paris Basketball, winning the EuroCup championship. The success earned him EuroCup Coach of the Year. In addition to his season with Paris Basketball, he had stints with teams in Germany, including five seasons with Crailsheim Merlins. Iisalo played 14 seasons of professional basketball in his native Finland. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
USA Today
02-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Memphis Grizzlies name Tuomas Iisalo head coach, remove interim tag
Memphis Grizzlies name Tuomas Iisalo head coach, remove interim tag Tuomas Iisalo is officially the next Memphis Grizzlies head coach. Iisalo served as interim coach after Taylor Jenkins was fired with nine games left in the regular season, and he led the Grizzlies to the playoffs. They were swept by the Thunder in the first round, but Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman removed the interim tag with an announcement on May 2. A highly successful coach in Europe, Iisalo joined the Grizzlies as lead assistant ahead of the 2024-25 season. He had a significant impact on Memphis' offense — both as an assistant and as interim coach — and earned praise from Grizzlies players at the end of the season. "He holds everybody accountable," Grizzlies star Ja Morant said. "But he also instills all the confidence in you." Iisalo will now have a full offseason to work with the Grizzlies, who will be hoping to make a deeper playoff run after a disappointing season. 'I have full confidence in Tuomas serving as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies going forward,' Kleiman said in a statement. 'Tuomas' teams at every level have been disciplined, tenacious and connected on both ends of the floor, consistently exceeding expectations. We look forward to the same in Memphis.' Iisalo is the first Finnish-born NBA coach. He played professionally in Finland before starting his coaching career. After coaching his former team Tapiolan Honka in Finland, he landed a job with Crailsheim Merlins in Germany. He worked there from 2016-21 before leaving for Telekom Baskets Bonn. Both teams had historic seasons during his tenure. In 2023, he left for Paris Basketball and took them from the EuroCup to the EuroLeague for the first time in club history. He was named EuroCup coach of the year. "I've grown tremendously," Iisalo said at exit interviews on April 27. "That's the biggest thing. The last 10 years that I coached, it was all as a head coach. And being an assistant coach, it really taught me a ton of things." What Tuomas Iisalo accomplished as Grizzlies interim coach Iisalo had very little time to make major changes, taking over with only nine games left in the regular season and having to deal with multiple injuries to rotation players. The Grizzlies went into the playoffs without Jaylen Wells and Brandon Clarke, both of whom would have played significant roles against the Thunder. The biggest difference from Jenkins to Iisalo in terms of personnel was the consistency of rookie center Zach Edey. He had nine or more rebounds in all but one of the regular season games after Jenkins was fired, and Iisalo spoke very highly of him at the end of the season. Morant's endorsement of Iisalo certainly didn't hurt his candidacy, and there's reason to believe that partnership could be even more successful moving forward. In Europe, Iisalo was known for his work with speedy point guards, including EuroCup MVP T.J. Shorts. "I definitely believe that it could be very beneficial for Ja," Shorts said before the NBA playoffs. "I know what he did for me, I know what he did for previous point guards and Ja Morant is on a whole other level." Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at or on X @thejonahdylan.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Memphis Grizzlies remove interim tag, make Tuomas Iisalo head coach
Tuomas Iisalo was thrown into an impossible situation. He'd been brought to America by the Grizzlies just a year ago from Paris Basketball — where he had won EuroCup with a high-powered offense — to help ramp up the Memphis offense. Then, when Taylor Jenkins was fired as the Grizzlies' head coach late in the season, Iisalo was thrown into the fire and handed the title of interim head coach. Memphis went 4-5 to end the season under him, came out of the Play-In Tournament only to run into a juggernaut Oklahoma City team that swept Memphis out of the playoffs. Now, Iisalo has been given the job full time, the Grizzlies announced. Advertisement "I have full confidence in Tuomas serving as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies going forward," Grizzlies President and General Manager Zachary Kleiman said in a statement. "Tuomas' teams at every level have been disciplined, tenacious and connected on both ends of the floor, consistently exceeding expectations. We look forward to the same in Memphis." Iisalo played professionally in Finland and is the first Finnish head coach in the NBA. Grizzlies players spoke highly of Iisalo and he seemed to have their support to take over as head coach, in particular Ja Morant. Iisalo ran more Morant pick-and-rolls, and rookie Zach Edey seemed to grow and thrive in this system. Being hired now gives Iisalo a full offseason and training camp to instill his offense. What the roster Iisalo will coach next season remains a question mark, Memphis cannot just run this group back again and expect different results with a different coach. However, it may be difficult to make radical changes. Whatever happens, Iisalo will get his chance.
