Due to maybe the most unlucky string of injuries that an NBA team suffered this season, the Memphis Grizzlies’ roster isn’t all that great right now. Guys like 36-year-old Matt Barnes, soon-to-be 35-year-old Zach Randolph, 34-year-old Tony Allen, and the mercurial Lance Stephenson are major contributors on the Grizz, so the fact that it’s a team in the postseason is kind of a surprise.
The team’s first postseason game didn’t go according to plan at all, though. Memphis got trucked by the San Antonio Spurs, 106-74. This led to TNT’s Reggie Miller claiming the Inside the NBA crew could take Memphis down. Considering that the Grizzlies are a team filled with a bunch of tough, hard-nosed dudes, you knew this wasn’t going to sit well with them.
One of the players who really hated Miller’s statement was Randolph, who cited pride as the reason why he was so offended by Miller’s ridiculous claim.
“I heard that,” he said. “For what all we’ve been through, and all the injuries, and not having our team at full strength, we still got a group of young guys that have played hard for us. And we go out every night as veterans and play hard every night. That’s all you can ask for, if you ask me.”
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“It has a lot to do with pride,” said Randolph. “Even though we are short. Pride is playing hard and leaving it all out there on the court so the fans and everybody else can say, `You know what? These guys gave it all they got under the circumstances.'”
It’s absurd to think that a team of dudes in their 40s and 50s – Miller, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley – could beat an NBA team as currently constructed. No matter what, Miller is on the call for TNT for Monday night’s Grizzles game, so maybe he can play Z-Bo in 1-on-1 or something.
(via The Commercial Appeal)
