Injuries are a part of the game and everyone is susceptible. But even so, it’s tough not to feel bad for guys that get hurt, especially towards the end of the season with something still left to play for. On February 15, Memphis’ Rudy Gay hurt his left shoulder and on March 22, it was announced that his season was over.
At the time of the announcement, it wasn’t even a certainty that Memphis was going to qualify for postseason play. They eventually were able to hang on as the eight seed. When they got to the playoffs and drew the top seeded Spurs, many looked at the glaring hole that San Antonio has in the middle and picked Memphis to prevail because Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph are skilled down low. That’s exactly what happened. The Grizzlies scored a bunch of points in the paint and they have become the darling of the tournament behind Randolph’s play.
Their second round opponent, Oklahoma City, is probably a more dynamic squad than the Spurs. They can fill it up on the perimeter with Durant and Westbrook, and can usually protect the basket with tough play from Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka. In Game 1, Zach had 34 points and even said that Perk was “too slow” to guard him. After making some adjustments, the Thunder were able to hold Randolph to 15 in Game 2. The high scorer for Memphis in that game was Mike Conley with 24. That type of scoring is uncharacteristic for Conley but with the absence of Gay, Memphis doesn’t really have a certified scorer on the perimeter. They rely heavily on what happens in the paint.
The way they’re playing now, sprinkled in with Rudy Gay would’ve made Memphis’ playoff run very interesting. They’d probably be favored to get by Oklahoma City based on what’s happened in the playoffs so far. Some have Memphis pegged to advance to the Conference Finals as is, but with Gay it would sound more realistic because I don’t necessarily think you can rely on Conley, Tony Allen , O.J. Mayo, Sam Young, or Greivis Vasquez to create their own shot in the closing seconds of the game if needed to. But with Rudy, that wasn’t a problem.
We’ll never know what the Grizz ultimately would’ve accomplished if Gay were healthy but I’d like to think that they’d be one of the best teams remaining based on how they’ve played thus far in the postseason. I’m not counting them out by any stretch, but Gay would’ve balanced them out more. But, who knows? Let’s see how far they can ride their inside presence.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
