National Basketball Association

Randolph taking Grizzlies to next level

Published Jan. 12, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

GAME TIME: Grizzlies 104, Clippers 102

Zach Randolph has been terrorizing the NBA for the past four weeks or so — averaging about 27 points and 16 rebounds per outing. Largely through his efforts, the Grizzlies have been transformed from perennial losers into a borderline playoff team.

This is the guy that the Clippers were more than happy to palm off on Memphis in exchange for Quentin Richardson, an oft-damaged player whose best days are a distant memory. In his brief tenure in L.A., Randolph weighed at least 270, was considered to be lazy, selfish and totally uninterested in either playing defense or in doing what it took to win. Good riddance, said the Clippers.

However, mainly through hard-nosed play of Randolph and Marc Gasol, Memphis leads the NBA in interior scoring and in offensive rebounds. And with their latest win, the Grizzlies' record is now 19-18.

There’s no way to predict how the team will fare for the rest of the season, but it should be noted that they’ve finished above .500 only three times in franchise history.

Memphis certainly had plenty of heroes against the Clippers — Gasol, Rudy Gay and Mike Conley. But the unsung hero was Randolph. That’s because despite having a subpar game, he managed to squeeze out 20 points, and he also hit a 20-foot step-back jumper with less than a minute to go that provided the host Grizzlies with their winning margin.

Let’s take a closer look at Randolph’s performance.

He had a miserable opening quarter going against Marcus Camby. Perhaps Randolph was still smarting from his 1-for-8, five-point output the last time he faced his ex-teammates.

In any event, Camby proceeded to block Randolph’s first two shots — both driving right-handed layups. In the immediate aftermath, Randolph didn’t even look at the basket the next few times he received the ball in attack position, preferring to make nonadvantageous out-passes.

It turned out that Camby was suffering from a stomach virus and left the game after the initial quarter— after holding Randolph to 1-for-5 from the field, with the only bucket coming on a put-back.

Since Chris Kaman was also out — with a sore lower back — the Clippers were shorthanded at center. But Randolph still couldn’t get his mojo working. Two more of his shots were swatted, he missed three layups, was guilty of a three-second violation, had absolutely no presence on defense, and on several occasions was moosed out of the rebounding scrum by DeAndre Jordan.

When a ruptured water main stopped the game and cleared the building with 47 seconds left in the third quarter, the Clippers led 89-77 and Randolph had stunk up the court.

However, when play resumed after a 35-minute delay, Randolph finally asserted himself. True, he was mostly defended by Al Thornton, who at 6-foot-7, 221 pounds, is two inches shorter and about 35 pounds lighter than the trimmed-down Randolph.

In any case, Randolph simply overpowered Thornton for several lefty jump-hooks, another put-back, a reverse-pivot lefty layup, and a bunch of free-throws when Thornton was forced to foul him.

Still, the most surprising aspect of Randolph’s offense was his passing. Yes, he sometimes waited too long before making his move in the low-post, thereby allowing the Clippers to form a tight double-team — but he also made a number of exceptional entry passes, reverse passes, and out-passes, ergo his four assists.

Randolph also set numerous solid screens, but rarely moved quickly without the ball.

His defense, however, was as poor as ever: Turning his head and letting Camby execute a backdoor cut that eventuated in a layup. Failing to make any move to obstruct a pair of layups that were well within reach. Turning his back to the ball on several sequences. And standing helplessly while Thornton faced, drove, and scored.

Even so, Randolph’s diligent work to get his body into better shape during the offseason is paying remarkable dividends. He’s much quicker on his feet than he ever has been, shows better stamina, and was willing to vacate the lane to make an occasional flash-show in defense of high screen/rolls.

He’s Fat Zach no more.

And primarily because of Randolph, the Grizzlies can dream of playing more than 82 games this season.

Straight shooting

With the trading deadline only five weeks away, there are in increasing number of rumors concerning deals for various high-profile players: Tracy McGrady, Carlos Boozer, Caron Butler, even Chris Paul and Tony Parker.

But one projected transaction that makes sense, and that would have the most significant effect on the NBA’s power structure, would be Andrew Bynum for Chris Bosh.

Disregarding any necessary add-ons that would make the salary numbers work, here’s how the results of this deal would shape up:

The Lakers

On the plus side, a frontline combination of Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Bosh would be incredibly quick and versatile. They’re all slashers, runners, jump-shooters, explosive scorers, and long-armed rebounders and defenders, who can also take an occasional turn in the pivot. The triangle offense would be more crisp, quicker to unfold, and therefore immensely more difficult to adequately defend.

Also, Bosh is a more reliable and mobile scorer than Bynum and would make doubling Kobe even more risky than it is now.

Thus far in his tenure in L.A., Bynum has been inconsistent, tending to play well against weak teams and poorly against strong teams. He still routinely forces his offense, and he gets confused when required to make quick decisions on defense. Moreover, unless either Gasol or Odom is down with injuries, Bynum is bench-bound in end-game situations -- a status that causes the young man to pout and mumble.

Yes, he’s still only 22, but there are distressing signs that Bynum will never fully mature and become the interior force that his potential suggests.

And if 6-6, 242-pound Chuck Hayes can play powerhouse defense for 20 minutes per game at the center slot, there’s every expectation that 6-7, 246-pound Ron Artest could do the same -- and do it even better.

If the Lakers could be guaranteed that Bosh would sign a long-term contract, the defending champs should jump at the opportunity. Both in the short- and long-term view, the Lakers would be better with Bosh than with Bynum.

The Raptors

Losing Bosh to free agency without any kind of return would be disastrous for Toronto. Although Bosh has muttered about being unhappy with the Raptors lack of progress, he hasn’t come out and definitively stated that he wants out. If he does so before Feb. 17, and thereby forces Toronto to make a deal, then Bynum would most likely represent the team’s best return.

Without Bosh, Andrea Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu would have to increase their scoring output. Unfortunately, neither can create his own shots nearly as well as Bosh.

Bynum, however, would give Toronto the physical back-to-the-basket scorer that they have lacked for so long. And with Bynum necessarily getting more touches and more clutch-time minutes than he did in L.A., he’d certainly be a much happier camper in his new surroundings.

At the same time, Toronto’s offense would slow down considerably.

If, indeed, Bynum eventually becomes the 20-10 player that he’s always been projected as becoming, then Toronto can direct its efforts to adding somebody like Luol Deng, Kevin Martin, Caron Butler, Richard Hamilton, Al Harrington, Josh Howard, Andre Iguodala, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, T-Mac, or Tyrus Thomas -- although their available cash and trading chips will be limited.

For the Raptors, necessity might force them into making the best of a bad situation.

VOX POPULI

I disagree with the vast majority in the media who believe that LeBron James is a far better player than Carmelo Anthony. Could you please do a breakdown of their games? – Habib Ajala

Be glad to do so. Here are my ratings in various categories on a 10-point must system.

STRENGTH – LeBron 10, Carmelo 9
QUICKNESS – LeBron 10, Carmelo 8
SPEED – LeBron 10, Carmelo 8
PERIMETER SHOOTING – Carmelo 10, LeBron 7
ABILITY TO FINISH – LeBron 10, Carmelo 9
OFF-HAND SHOOTING– LeBron 10, Carmelo 7
POST-UP SCORING – Carmelo 10, LeBron 7
FT SHOOTING – Carmelo 10, LeBron 9
DEPENDABILITY IN CLUTCH – LeBron 10, Carmelo 9
PASSING – LeBron 10, Carmelo 6
PASSING OUT OF DOUBLE-TEAMS – LeBron 10, Carmelo 8
UNSELFISHNESS – LeBron 10, Carmelo 8
HANDLE – LeBron 10, Carmelo 8
REBOUNDING – LeBron 10, Carmelo 9
MAN-TO-MAN DEFENSE – LeBron 10, Carmelo 7
TEAM DEFENSE – LeBron 10, Carmelo 7
CONSISTENCY – LeBron 10, Carmelo 8
VERSATILITY – Carmelo 10, LeBron 8

The total is LeBron 181, Carmelo 149 -- which is about right.

TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY

Standing at 6-9, I’m about two inches taller than the average NBA player. It’s only natural that people tend to look up to “normal-sized” people like us, but very few averaged-sized folks understand how being so tall changes someone’s life.

Basically, the biggest problem is having to deal with other’s expectations. When we’re 3 years old, say, we could easily be as tall as a 5-year-old. But we lack the physical coordination, intellectual capacity, and emotional development of most 5-year-olds, so we’re constantly being criticized and humiliated for not being what we appear to be.

Also, being the tallest of our peers, every mistake we make is extremely obvious. There’s no hiding in a crowd. This is particularly damaging in classroom situations. Some of us even tend to adopt a hunched-over posture to try to avoid undue attention.

It’s only when we are physically mature enough to play basketball that we find a comfortable environment. Although it should be noted that since taller kids take longer to get all their body parts synchronized, the smaller, more physically coordinated players generally have the most advanced skills early in their careers and therefore get most of the coaches’ attention.

Once we grow into our XXX-Large bodies -- usually in our later high school years -- everything changes. Suddenly, we are the most dominant hoopers, a status that often translates into social popularity. And that’s also when we develop a sense of pride in ourselves. Our posture improves, as does our confidence and self-esteem.

A basketball court is seventh heaven.

So the next time you see a power forward or a center bully a guard, or dunk over another runt, be aware that -- even more than the money -- his action represents a reward for his long years of being a persecuted misfit.

If you have a question or comment for Charley Rosen, please email charleyrosen@gmail.com and he may respond in a future column.