Speed, what you're leaving out is the change in his style of play. That Zach was a guy who didn't stray from the low post and who feasted on putbacks. His game was predicated on cleaning up scraps. He may not have been the most natural defender, but he tried. He especially had a nose on the defensive boards. The Zach we traded fell in love with the three and often wouldn't cross half court if he thought the other team was on a break. He went from "Z-Bo" to "Me-Bo". Zach would have been a great second or third option; the kind of player you didn't call plays for. We had so little talent on those teams, he had to be our first option and it ruined his game.
Has a player ever flourished under McMillan more so than another coach he played for with the exception or Roy and that was because of injury
Sadly, that's not true. The Zach Randolph (06/07) that we traded had just had his career best 22.8 PER which he has NOT topped in Memphis. He had averaged a 24 ppg and 10 rpg. We were a team on the rise. With Roy and others about to improve, we were bound to be a playoff team in 2008 and win when we got there. People forget how great Zach was that year (cuz he finally had good teammates to play with again). Zach's last season with Portland was his BEST as a pro: http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/randoza01/gamelog/2007/ Truth.
The advanced stats will make you weep: http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/randoza01.html We traded one of the best players in the NBA (06-07) for Channing Frye and Steve Francis. We threw him away like trash to a crappy team who threw him to another crappy team. Once he was finally on a stable team again, back came his game and he started winning again.
And he was a fantastic number one option. Not a third or fourth wheel. Look at the numbers. They will stun you and reveal the truth. He had a few bad years because he was playing with Telfair and Khryapa. AND was covering from MICROFRACTURE KNEE SURGERY. But when we added Roy and Aldridge and he had had time to recover, he played the best ball of his career. And we threw him away for nothing. Big. Fucking. Mistake.
Look at the numbers. Career best 22.8 PER in 06-07. 24/10. We were too anxious to move Aldridge to starting PF and thought with Oden , we could afford to do that so we rushed to trade him to Isiah Thomas whose team was awful. Then he got tossed to another awful team. Once a good team picked him up, he was back on track, but look at the numbers. He was GREAT for us in 06-07 and we had improved our record by 11 wins. And he was fully recovered from MF surgery and playing at the top of his game. The stories people tell about Zach aren't true. I remember that it was gospel in here that no team that started Randolph would ever reach the playoffs let alone win there. Now that he has, people are changing their tune to "he reformed!". He has ALWAYS been a winner when playing with good teams. the BEST year of his career (06-07) was with Portland http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/randoza01.html
If we had kept Randolph, he would've continued to play at that level and we'd be a better team today.
Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez, Sebastian Telfair, Martell Webster, Brandon Roy. Outside if Zach Randolph and Jarrett Jack, who are the Blazer players who flourished after Nate without moving multiple teams?
Zach averaged 15.1 ppg this year. If Memphis wins the title, it will be because of the team, not him. It would be the Piston model, but I don't see them getting by SAS, anyhow.
I'm confused. Jack did move to multiple teams. So did Bayless and he is doing well if that's what you're asking. Webster emerging in Washington. They were really playing great with him at the end of the season. Andre Miller too.
I'm confused, too, Is the Zach Randolph who averages 15.1 ppg going to lead the Blazers to the playoffs and WCF this year? Or does having the DPOY in Marc Gasol help that equation?
He was a fantastic rebounder. Fantastic at getting to the line and hitting when he got there. Had a much better post game then. And he only shot 0.7 threes per game as opposed to 0.3 this season. Not a big difference. To me, falling in love with the three is 3 or 4 a game. Go back and watch the games in 2006-07. He had a GREAT "style of play.". More complete efficient post game then. He's old now and has lost a step from what he had then. In your kind, you keep replaying a couple crappy games he played on a bum knee with Darius Miles and Sebastian Telfair at his side and THAT is what you think of when you think of his "style of play."
I was talking about the garbageman-type player he was in that Dallas series and what he became by the time we traded him.
When we traded him, he was a BEAST (check 06-07 player stats!). 24/10. 22.8 PER, best of his CAREER including his time in Memphis. You are thinking of injured Randolph playing street all with Miles and Telfair. But he turned it around BEFORE we traded him.
PapaG's favorite: 23 PER with a 33 USG in 06-07 Meh Zach is doing good playing 3rd fiddle for Memphis. I'm happy for him and enjoy watching the Grizzlies play.
