{"id":318307,"date":"2025-10-03T00:51:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T00:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/318307\/"},"modified":"2025-10-03T00:51:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T00:51:11","slug":"how-grizzlies-scotty-pippen-jr-are-approaching-intense-training-camp-battles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/318307\/","title":{"rendered":"How Grizzlies, Scotty Pippen Jr. are approaching \u2018intense\u2019 training camp battles"},"content":{"rendered":"

The post How Grizzlies, Scotty Pippen Jr. are approaching \u2018intense\u2019 training camp battles<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As Tuomas Iisalo<\/a>\u2019s Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> kick off their training camp, the air is thick with competition, camaraderie, and a palpable sense of urgency. After a rollercoaster 2024-25 season that saw the team navigate a late-season coaching change and playoff heartbreak, Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.\u2019s Grizzlies are embracing a fresh start. At the heart of this reset is Scotty Pippen Jr.<\/a>, whose breakout finish last year has reinforced a quiet confidence for the 24-year-old.<\/p>\n

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While specific tactical details remain under wraps, the Grizzlies have clearly embraced Iisalo\u2019s approach as they look to rebound from recent seasons hampered by injuries and unmet expectations. There is also a fierce determination to lock down a consistent role amid the \u201csuper intense\u201d training camp battles. Pippen Jr. knows the process well and is staying positive as much as possible, though some trash talk is required.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c(Training camp) has been good. There is a lot of trash talk, but it\u2019s also healthy at the same time,\u201d Pippen Jr. joked. \u201cGuys are out there competing for jobs and trying to make each other better. It\u2019s super competitive. Everyone\u2019s going at it, trying to win every drill\u2026It\u2019s been super intense. Even talking to (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), and if it was intense for a vet like him, it\u2019s going to be new for me as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iisalo\u2019s injury-plagued Grizzlies need the old Pippen Jr. back soon.\u00a0From March 1 through the end of the regular season (21 games, two coaches), Pippen Jr. averaged 12.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.5 rebounds while shooting an efficient 50.5% from the field and a scorching 48.5% from three. His impact peaked in the first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he posted 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 steals-plus-blocks per game.<\/p>\n

On a per-36-minute basis during that late-season surge, Pippen Jr. outpaced several interdivisional rivals<\/a>, including Jordan Hawkins, Jose Alvarado, Spencer Dinwiddie, Klay Thompson, Fred VanVleet, and even future Hall of Famer Chris Paul. For a team desperate for consistent guard play, Pippen Jr. proved that steady minutes translate to starter-level production.<\/p>\n

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To his credit, Pippen Jr. is quick to acknowledge that the path to that success wasn\u2019t linear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel confident after last year. Even though I went through that little slump, not to make any excuses, but I was going through different roles and changes,\u201d Pippen told ClutchPoints. \u201cThere were some DNPs, some games not playing as much. I feel like that kind of affected me mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experience taught him valuable lessons.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo this year, it\u2019s going into (training camp) with a level head,\u201d explained Pippen Jr. \u201cJust feeling confident in my role and going out there and playing my game.\u201d<\/p>\n

That confidence appears well-placed given his late-season performance, but Pippen Jr. knows nothing is guaranteed. The intensity of training camp has made that clear.<\/p>\n

Related: Grizzlies\u2019 Zach Edey teases more ink coming after massive tattoo addition<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Why Grizzlies were surprised Ty Jerome Hail Mary worked after 6MOY candidacy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The post How Grizzlies, Scotty Pippen Jr. are approaching \u2018intense\u2019 training camp battles appeared first on ClutchPoints. As…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3795],"tags":[7,866,294,178,496,5316,11053,865,498,293,177,4070,6,179,627,5990,181,25812],"class_list":{"0":"post-318307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-memphis-grizzlies","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-fred-vanvleet","10":"tag-grizzlies","11":"tag-ja-morant","12":"tag-jaren-jackson-jr","13":"tag-jordan-hawkins","14":"tag-jose-alvarado","15":"tag-kentavious-caldwell-pope","16":"tag-klay-thompson","17":"tag-memphis","18":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","19":"tag-memphisgrizzlies","20":"tag-nba","21":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","22":"tag-scotty-pippen-jr","23":"tag-spencer-dinwiddie","24":"tag-the-grizzlies","25":"tag-training-camp"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115307497662680072","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}