Grizzlies lose Zach Randolph, identity
By Zach Lowe
January 4, 2011
San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili will miss six to eight weeks — not four to six, as initially hoped — thanks to the broken bone in his hand. And now, even more jarring, Memphis’ Zach Randolph is expected to miss about eight weeks after an MRI revealed that he tore a ligament in his right knee during the Grizzlies’ loss in Chicago on Sunday, according to the Commercial Appeal in Memphis. Early reports indicated that the injury was a bone bruise, and that Randolph would be day-to-day.
The Grizzlies, a borderline contender given a healthy roster, could have survived a short Randolph absence, even atop Darrell Arthur’s season-ending injury (torn Achilles), and still made the playoffs. The Western Conference is so competitive, and the schedule so grueling, that it would be surprising if teams in the race for the bottom two or three playoff seeds separate much from each other and the teams that end up just outside the postseason picture. Lose Randolph for a week or so, fill Arthur’s minutes with newly acquired Marreese Speights and Dante Cunningham, and you’re still a playoff team.
Lose Randolph for two full months — half the season, including up to nine back-to-backs — and you’re in major trouble. To say the Grizzlies’ entire offense is built around having two monster post players in Randolph and Marc Gasol is a bit much, because Rudy Gay is back from shoulder surgery, Mike Conley has developed into a credible starting point guard with a decent outside shot and Memphis creates easy baskets from its ball-hawking defense. But it’s only a bit much.
http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2012/01/04/grizzlies-lose-zach-randolph-identity/?sct=nba_t11_a1
I wonder if we're going to see more injuries since the season is shortened as players are forced to get into high-level competition form sooner. No more sleep through the first half...