Built Ford Tough Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Memphis Grizzlies star forward Zach Randolph will miss up to eight weeks due to a slight tear of his MCL on his right knee, according to The Commercial Appeal. It was reported yesterday that Randolph was expected to miss some time with a bruised right knee, however an MRI has revealed a slight tear which require a much longer recovery period than initially expected. According to The Commercial Appeal, Randolph will not require surgery and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. The 30-year-old injured the knee when he fell hard in the final seconds of the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. http://tracking.si.com/2012/01/04/report-zach-randolph-has-torn-mcl-could-miss-eight-weeks/#?eref=twitter_feed Tough break for the Grizzlies. He wasn't playing that great this season but losing your best/2nd best player is going to be a very tough blow to the Grizzlies' playoff hopes, especially when you consider how tight the West is likely going to be this season. Who knows, though, many people thought the same thing when Gay went down last year and look how that turned out for them. The Grizzlies hang their hat on their defense and its not like Randolph is a defensive anchor for them or anything like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AboveLegit Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Dallas is playing poorly, Spurs are without Manu, Grizzlies are without Z-bo, can the Rockets win the division? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Dallas is playing poorly, Spurs are without Manu, Grizzlies are without Z-bo, can the Rockets win the division? Don't you go getting my hopes up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish7718 Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Good thing they got Speights... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Built Ford Tough Posted February 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Could return in early March: Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph has been cleared to begin non-contact basketball drills on the court, keeping him on pace to return in early March. Team doctors performed a third and final magnetic resonance imaging examination on Randolph's right knee Monday morning. The MRI results showed more healing as Randolph recovers from a torn right medial collateral ligament. That Randolph continues to make significant progress means it's more likely that he could be cleared for full-contact workouts in the eight-week window originally diagnosed. Although the Griz haven't yet set a target date, it's possible Randolph could return March 7 at Golden State. Memphis has three days off before that game. The break in the schedule would allow Randolph practice time with his teammates. Randolph, wearing a black knee brace, walks without a limp. He's most recently performed pool exercises geared toward gaining strength in the knee. Randolph suffered the injury Jan. 1 during the first quarter of a loss at Chicago. He's been sidelined for six weeks. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/feb/13/injured-grizzlies-forward-zach-randolph-cleared-no/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 I'm verrrrrry curious to see how the Grizzlies look when he shakes off the rust and gets back to the form. When he's healthy and motivated, he is arguably the 2nd best PF in the league behind Dirk, as evident in last year's post-season. Rudy Gay has been the focal point of the team since Randolph went down, and the Grizzlies have managed a very respectable record and picked up some huge wins, but when Randolph gets back he NEEDS to be the focal point of the offense. He is their best, most reliable offensive weapon, specifically in iso situations. Can Rudy adjust and learn to play a little more off-ball and become more effective in other aspects of the game beyond scoring? If he can and lets the offense primarily run through the twin-tower duo of Randolph/Gasol, this team could be my favorite to knock off the Thunder out West. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish7718 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I'm verrrrrry curious to see how the Grizzlies look when he shakes off the rust and gets back to the form. When he's healthy and motivated, he is arguably the 2nd best PF in the league behind Dirk, as evident in last year's post-season. Rudy Gay has been the focal point of the team since Randolph went down, and the Grizzlies have managed a very respectable record and picked up some huge wins, but when Randolph gets back he NEEDS to be the focal point of the offense. He is their best, most reliable offensive weapon, specifically in iso situations. Can Rudy adjust and learn to play a little more off-ball and become more effective in other aspects of the game beyond scoring? If he can and lets the offense primarily run through the twin-tower duo of Randolph/Gasol, this team could be my favorite to knock off the Thunder out West.2nd best really? I don't think that's arguable even when he was ballin' in the post season he still was sucking wind at the end of games, shooting under 50% and playing little defense. I thought you valued efficiency? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 2nd best really? I don't think that's arguable even when he was ballin' in the post season he still was sucking wind at the end of games, shooting under 50% and playing little defense. I thought you valued efficiency? Sucking wind at the end of games? He was absolutely dominant in the clutch last year in the post-season. And last year he actually wasn't all that inefficient. Last season he shot over 50% and had a TS% of over .550 which is pretty good for an iso scorer scoring over 20PPG, and in the playoffs he was over .530 which isn't great but not awful (especially since he played an extremely good defensive squad in Thunder in the 2nd round). What I value with Zach is he is one of the very few big men in the NBA that can be a true #1 option. When your team needs a basket, you can give him the ball in an iso situation and expect him to make a strong play. It's something Dirk can do extremely well, which is why he's IMO been the best PF for years despite his lack of rebounding and defense. Blake is still raw and cannot be relied on to do that, Love is not a very good iso scorer, Bosh can do it for stretches but doesn't have the mentality of a go-to scorer, Amare needs a PG who can give him the ball on the move for him to consistently be able to get to the rim without barrelling over someone for an offensive foul, etc... Also, I LOVE his ability on the glass, specifically on the offensive glass. He's a bully down there, and last year was at 12RPG despite a very good, big-bodies center by his side. Last year he also finally showed some unselfishness and leadership, which really left an impression on me. I don't know if for sure I'd put him at #2 PF in the league when he's playing the way he did last year, but you can definitely make a very good arguement for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayes1 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Sucking wind at the end of games? He was absolutely dominant in the clutch last year in the post-season. And last year he actually wasn't all that inefficient. Last season he shot over 50% and had a TS% of over .550 which is pretty good for an iso scorer scoring over 20PPG, and in the playoffs he was over .530 which isn't great but not awful (especially since he played an extremely good defensive squad in Thunder in the 2nd round). What I value with Zach is he is one of the very few big men in the NBA that can be a true #1 option. When your team needs a basket, you can give him the ball in an iso situation and expect him to make a strong play. It's something Dirk can do extremely well, which is why he's IMO been the best PF for years despite his lack of rebounding and defense. Blake is still raw and cannot be relied on to do that, Love is not a very good iso scorer, Bosh can do it for stretches but doesn't have the mentality of a go-to scorer, Amare needs a PG who can give him the ball on the move for him to consistently be able to get to the rim without barrelling over someone for an offensive foul, etc... Also, I LOVE his ability on the glass, specifically on the offensive glass. He's a bully down there, and last year was at 12RPG despite a very good, big-bodies center by his side. Last year he also finally showed some unselfishness and leadership, which really left an impression on me. I don't know if for sure I'd put him at #2 PF in the league when he's playing the way he did last year, but you can definitely make a very good argument for him. Agree with everything you just said A healthy Zach, top 5 PF in the nba today. And I really think he can be the number one option. Plus he proven that he can step out and take the three if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish7718 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 (edited) Zach was clutch in the playoffs at the end of the games in the beginning of games, as the playoffs went foward you could see him have less and less at the end of games every game. Even in that stretch of playoffs he shot 45% from the floor. I value Zach at top 5, he's probably the 2nd best rebounder of the top PF's in the NBA. However I still don't think he top 3, Oh wells just my opinion. Edited February 20, 2012 by flsh7718 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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