Mike Conley can attest to the discord in Memphis.
The Grizzlies point guard has been sidelined since mid-November with a sore left Achilles, and has watched his team drop every game without him.
During the skid, Marc Gasol vented after then-coach David Fizdale benched him in the fourth quarter of a Nov. 26 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Less than 24 hours later, the coach was canned.
Questions arose about tensions between the star big man and the bench boss, which Conley recently confirmed.
"They had their differences at different times during the year," he told Ronald Tillery from Commercial Appeal. "That happens with any coach. It just so happens that their relationship wasn't at its best at the time we needed it to be, especially when the microscope was on us and we're losing games. Unfortunately, it got to this point."
Related: Gasol claims he had nothing to do with Fizdale firing
Not only did the friction exist, Conley was the one tasked with diffusing the flare-ups.
"That's my second job, man," he said. "I am the mediator for everybody. I'm a part-time psychologist. I was in the middle of trying to help steer things in the right direction with them, and that goes for everybody on the team."
Conley said that's exactly what he was trying to do on that fateful night against the Nets.
"I was in Marc's ear the whole time, sitting on the bench next to him just trying to encourage him. I told him things like this happen. Don't overreact. Just focus on the team."
Conley admitted he was confused by Fizdale's decision to keep Gasol out down the stretch of the "very winnable game." That call cost the coach in multiple ways, obviously, with one being the Grizzlies fell 98-88, marking their eighth straight loss (they're up to 11 now).
Related - LeBron: Maybe Fizdale was fired because he didn't 'kiss nobody's ass'
The 30-year-old is averaging 17.1 points, 4.1 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and a steal over a dozen games this season but was noticeably hampered by his injury, shooting career lows 38.1 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from long range. He's expected to return later this month.
The club, now under interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, still hasn't found a way to win without its starting point man in 10 tries. The Grizz have spiraled to 13th in the West, and will look to get out of their funk Monday when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves.
