Grizzlies Season Grades: Zach Randolph.
(This is the fifth part of an ongoing series where we will grade the Memphis Grizzlies team and franchise for the 2011-2012 season. The first four parts can be found here: Lionel Hollins, Mike Conley Jr, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay.)
If 2011 was Zach Randolph’s breakout year as a player, then 2012 was a frustrating season that never really got going for the Grizzlies’ rock.
We all know by now about Randolph’s partially torn MCL against the Chicago Bulls on January 1, 2012 that took most of his regular season and kept him from really ever peaking going into the playoffs. With Randolph slowed and Rudy Gay not ready for prime time, the Grizzlies suffered a somewhat surprising first-round loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, including a game 7 at home in Memphis. While the two teams finished within one game of each other in the final standings, the home team wins game 7 at a shade over 80% of the time traditionally.
For the team and Randolph, I’m sure the season was a bit of a disappointment. I know that most fans felt like this was a core that could have reached the western conference finals, if not the NBA Finals. Anytime you fall short of expectations, there’s bound to be disappointment.
The biggest difference between the 2011 team and the 2012 team was Randolph’s health, or lack thereof. Understand, Randolph’s game doesn’t rely on on a ton of athleticism like most of the league today, but rather muscle, and a devastating step-back jumper that you see more from a swingman than a 6’9 power forward.
When he missed three months to that injury, he wasn’t able to practice, he got no reps and everything was disrupted. I’m not inventing the wheel by telling you all of this, but many people don’t understand that a more athletic player would have something else to go to when his best isn’t good enough. With Randolph being a ground-bound 4 that can barely leap over a piece of paper, anything that affects his repertoire of jumpers and second chance points after an offensive rebound is big trouble.
Hurting his cause in the playoffs was Blake Griffin, an athletic freak, guarding him a lot of the time. Zach wasn’t jumping over Griffin and Griffin is quick than Zach as well. It all added up for trouble for Randolph and the Grizzlies, as opposed to an older, undersized front line from San Antonio in 2011. Randolph was able to bully Tim Duncan on the block, shoot over DeJuan Blair and eviscerate Tiago Splitter and Matt Bonner. The Spurs just had no answer. If the Clippers were a sneaky bad match-up for Randolph, then the Spurs in 2011 was like Christmas morning.
Next year should be better for Randolph and the Grizzlies. They’ll have an off-season to get healthy, a real training camp and probably some new faces around to try and keep their window open for at least two more years. That sounds all well and good, but will only happen if Zach Randolph can get back to his 2011 playoff peak. While he’s not as young as he once was, there’s no reason to think that he won’t be able to do just that.
Best Game:
Despite his heroics, the Grizzlies lost the game, but saw flashes of what Randolph brought to the team. They hadn’t forgotten I’m sure, but to see him on the court making shots and doing what he does was a lift for a team that was already playing good ball.
Unfortunately, it was his best performance until a few playoff flashes, and he was unable to sustain that type of performance every night. Between having no reliable back-up point guard and Randolph being about 80% of himself, the Grizzlies 2012 season was ultimately doomed during that blow-out loss to the Bulls on New Year’s Day.
2011-2012 Season Grade: Incomplete. Not even a cop-out, how can you grade a guy who missed three months of a season that was already shortened?