Grizzlies Lose Zach Randolph For 8 Weeks; Add Marreese Speights Via Trade
by TLorenzo on Jan 4, 2012 1:07 PM CST
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PrintWhat a strange, terrible day it has been. First, we got the news that the Grizzlies were close to trading Xavier Henry in a 3-team deal that would net us Marreese Speights from the Philadelphia 76ers. Not a bad deal at all, if you ask me. We were in need of an athletic, scoring big who can help BACK UP Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol... not REPLACE Randolph.
Yes, replace him. Reports have now surfaced that Z-Bo will miss the next 8-10 weeks with a torn ligament in his knee. It really doesn't get much worse than that. Seriously. The Speights trade, which made some sense, now makes A LOT of sense.
Look, I don't mean to get negative here and say that the season is over. If anything, we saw last year, after losing Rudy Gay, that we can rally around our strengths and make some playoff noise. Heck, we even saw it last night when we beat the Sacramento Kings, quite easily, without Randolph in the lineup. We had an offensive set, both on the run and in the half court. It was an a noteworthy performance.
But, and I mean this without disrespecting the Kings, it was against the Kings, a team who is searching for their own identity as we speak. It wasn't as if we went and dismantled the Chicago Bulls. Ha. Remember that game? 40-point loss, anyone? Great win last night, but we need Randolph to be serious contenders.
I'll say this, because I'm shooting from the hip right now: we are still a playoff team. And I mean that in the least "homer" way possible. I really think that with Gay, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Tony Allen, O.J. Mayo, Marreese Speights, and all, we can make the playoffs in the West. The problem is, this wasn't the season we were supposed to "just make the playoffs." This was a season where we were supposed to be "dangerous," a tough out. Not just a playoff team. And that's what hurts.
That all said, it's only 8-10 weeks, right? If we can hang in there for the next 8-10 weeks, which I think we can, we'll get Z-Bo back in time to get him ready for a playoff run. Last season, we didn't expect to get Gay back, so we went into the playoffs knowing we couldn't turn to him. At least in this case we know we'll likely see Z-Bo back at some point this season. Which gives us hope.
So while I'm sadden by this news, and it truly does suck -- I mean, really sucks -- we still can't, nor should, give up on the 2011-12 season. We have the pieces, and if we can keep the team afloat until Z-Bo wins, we'll once again be a tough out and a dangerous team. It's just going to be a long 8 weeks.
What do you say, Grizzlies fans?
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I feel bad, I think I jinxed us in my predictions for this season
We’ve been so lucky with injuries for the past 3 or 4 seasons (even when we were terrible, at least everyone was healthy), it kind of seemed like we were due. I think Portland could be a good comparison for us this year. Every year, they suffered 10,000 injuries, yet they just keep plugging away. Hopefully we can do the same.
"Sasha [Vujacic] has no conscience. He'd shoot at a funeral." -Charles Barkley
I think we can win
If Conley keeps playing like he did last night, Speights and Hadaddi duke it out for the backup C spot, we’ll be ok.
I like the energy last night once the Grizz started taking better shots. Pargo’s a little demon out there. Speeding around like Rip Hamilton is his prime. If the Grizz go small, Conley/OJ or Sam/Pargo might be a mean combo.
Tonight will go a long way towards letting us know how we’ll fair. Minny’s ceiling this year is probably the 8th seed in the western conference. If we can’t pick up a road win here tonight, or at least make it come down the wire….gonna be a long two months.
It was a particularly small egg...thats why I asked.
by thenightstallion on Jan 4, 2012 1:34 PM CST up reply actions
Pargo was a sneaky-good signing. Way to go Front Office.
"Sasha [Vujacic] has no conscience. He'd shoot at a funeral." -Charles Barkley
by ForeignFlopper on Jan 4, 2012 1:27 PM CST up reply actions
In light of the Randolph injury news
Maybe we should have traded for a few bottles of this.
Here’s my concern for the rest of the season. Can we make the playoffs? Yes. But more than likely as that 8th and final seed. However, all due respect to every other team in the west, OKC is getting the first seed. No doubt in my mind. If we can get ZBo back in time, we can probably make a run at the 5-6 seed, but thats gonna depend on how well we play in his absence.
This is also going to hurt ticket sales.
It was a particularly small egg...thats why I asked.
by thenightstallion on Jan 4, 2012 1:20 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
rec'd
for busting out the Space Jam reference.
"Sasha [Vujacic] has no conscience. He'd shoot at a funeral." -Charles Barkley
by ForeignFlopper on Jan 4, 2012 1:26 PM CST up reply actions
Excuse me, fellas, I’m gonna go cry like a little girl for a while….
by peytont on Jan 4, 2012 2:10 PM CST via iPhone app reply actions
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