By Michael Wallace
Grind City Media
Memphis –There are still days when old habits take over.
That’s especially the case after Zach Randolph turns in one of his better performances on the court that remind Grizzlies’ teammates, coaches, fans and opponents that nothing’s changed about his game. Now at age 35, there’s no denying that Randolph is entering the final stages of his career.
However, age has never defined Randolph’s effort. He’s had an ‘old-man’ game since he entered the league as a 19-year-old acquired by Portland in the 2001 NBA draft. But there have been days in recent weeks when Randolph would head off the court after games, dip into his locker, reach for his cell phone and thumb across the screen through multiple text messages.
It’s still difficult to fathom that Mae Randolph’s encouraging words are no longer among them.
“It’s still every day I do it and think about her,” Randolph says. “Every day, man. Some days are good, and some are bad. But the one thing I know is that she’s still watching over me. That never stopped.”
Randolph then steps back, swipes an oversized towel across his face to wipe away those every-present beads of sweat and then smiles at the thought of what Mae might say about how her son has coped. That classic Z-Bo smile is back along with that vintage, pick-your-poison production that has been punishing opponents more frequently these days.
Friday’s game against the Golden State Warriors (45-8) at FedExForum carried significance on many levels for the Grizzlies (33-23), despite falling to 2-1 this season against the star-studded squad after a 122-107 loss. But on a more personal note, it represented a full-circle moment for the teammates closest to Randolph, who have seen him grow stronger physically and emotionally from perhaps the most difficult stretch of his professional life.
It was during that Jan. 6 miraculous rally from a 24-point deficit at Oracle Arena where Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley noticed Randolph was publicly reemerging, in many ways, from his private mourning. As Memphis was on the verge of completing a 128-119 overtime win for the most impressive comeback in franchise history, Randolph was in the midst of pulverizing MVP Kevin Durant in the post for 27 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes. Despite those impressive stats, Conley saw something much deeper that resonated in Randolph’s breakthrough performance that night.
“He showed early in the game that he was doing things he used to do before everything happened,” Conley recalls. “And later in the game, we specifically went to him and he made all the shots. Outside the paint. Inside the paint. Doing things he did when he first got to Memphis. That game was one of those eye-opening moments, where you were like, ‘Z-Bo looks like he’s getting around that corner.’”
A January of rejuvenation for Randolph has now transitioned into a fortifying February.
Nearly three months have passed since the Grizzlies’ charter flight landed close to midnight back in Memphis after a Nov. 23 overtime win in Philadelphia. A few hours earlier, Randolph had just finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes. He left the visitors’ locker room in Philly complaining – half-jokingly – about how grilled salmon yet again anchored the team’s postgame meal.
“We’re in Philly,” Randolph shouted as he bypassed the spread and headed toward the team bus. “Where the hell are the cheesesteaks, man?”
A few hours later, that playful euphoria was replaced by the devastating news that Randolph’s mother, Mae, had died suddenly on Thanksgiving Day. A seven-game absence followed, and since Randolph returned to the team in mid-December, he’s gradually been getting himself back together.
Randolph had his best month of the season in January, when he averaged 16.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, 27.6 minutes and shot 42.9 percent from three-point range in 14 games. The first week of the month ended with Randolph getting back to his old form to provide that meaty double-double in a monstrous effort that fueled Memphis’ second win over Golden State. And January ended with Z-Bo literally taking his game to new heights. In a 115-96 victory in Phoenix on Jan. 30, he got two dunks and made two threes in a game for the first time in his 15-year career.
That production has continued into February, with Randolph reaching double figures in either points or rebounds through the first six games he’s played. His 14 double-doubles, including Friday’s 17-point, 13-rebound outing in the loss to the Warriors, are the most among any NBA player coming off the bench this season.
National acknowledgement came earlier this week from Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley, who has repeatedly said he believes Memphis is the third-best team in the West behind the Warriors and Spurs. Then, during a national broadcast, Barkley praised Randolph for “keeping pride in check” and accepting his role off the bench this season and continuing to produce at a high level.
“Shout out to Zach Randolph for being a grown-ass man,” Barkley beamed from the TNT set.
The best-kept secret around the Grizzlies these days is the amount of weight Randolph has dropped over the past couple of seasons. At one point, the 6-foot-9 and 260-pounds he’s officially listed at was more of a goal. Now, it seems far more like a reality.
“One, he’s gotten his rhythm back,” Grizzlies coach David Fizdale said. “He was playing well before his mom passed, and he’s finally gotten back to where he’s found his rhythm from that standpoint. I also think he’s getting in better basketball shape. It’s allowed me to play him more minutes at a higher level, and he’s responded.”
Dig a bit deeper, and another theory emerges about Randolph’s improved conditioning. The gradual transformation has seen Z-Bo go from chicken wings to skinny jeans.
“He’s disciplined – not just with eating, but health-wise with conditioning as he’s changed a lot of things in order to stay fit and stay healthy at his age,” said Conley, who along with Marc Gasol were in Memphis when Randolph arrived in 2009. “So it’s really cool to see him in the weight room, even after practices and after games, when he didn’t feel like he did enough.”
Cheesesteak craving that night in Philly aside, Conley said he’s also noticed Randolph’s consistent approach the past few seasons to improving his nutrition. During an appearance in training camp on the Chris Vernon Show Podcast, Fizdale said he spoke at length with Randolph during the offseason about combating a trend of diabetes that had impacted Randolph’s family.
“He’s made more of a conscious effort to eat less greasy foods,” Conley said of Randolph. “He used to be a big chicken wing eater, and all of that. I still think he has one or two here and there. Before, he used to eat them all the time. But now, he’s getting away from it and really concentrating on eating vegetables and focusing on all the good things he needs to put into his body.”
Randolph is hardly big on detailed explanations.
“It’s been good. My thing is that coach has been giving me more minutes and has challenged me, and I feel like I’ve responded well out there,” Randolph said in an attempt to downplay the notion. “I have not really approached anything too differently. I keep my same approach out there, just doing what I need to do keep being ready. And when it’s my turn I just do what I always do. Go compete. Simple as that.”
Yet, it’s been hardly simple.
Perhaps what’s helped Randolph get back into a comfort zone as much as anything else has been the steady dose of minutes he’s now getting alongside Gasol on the court. One of the first bold decisions Fizdale made when he took over this season as coach was to bring Randolph off the bench and start JaMychal Green at power forward. It was largely a schematic-based tweak for Fizdale but a seismic adjustment for Randolph, who publicly supported the move but privately struggled to cope initially.
Since Randolph returned from bereavement, his minutes alongside Gasol have drastically increased, especially in the fourth quarter in the deciding moments of games. For instance, Gasol and Randolph played more than 230 minutes together in January alone after playing less than 220 in tandem through the first two months of the season.
When you’re down, we’ll rally around you and take care of you….. When things like that happen in your life, you rely on your friends and your brothers. There are a few of us who have been here with Zach since he got here, and what we are to each other goes deeper than basketball. Basketball is secondary to our relationship. We’re personal with each other. We care dearly about each other. Basketball is what we do; not what we are. Not everyone on the outside understand it, but we know.
— Marc Gasol
“I couldn’t be happier to have Zach playing great basketball again and Mike playing great at the same time,” Gasol said of the recently improved chemistry between the threesome. “It’s not been perfect by any means, and I know it can get better. But I’m starting to see our potential again. We’ll get there.”
Gasol said the main reason they’ve gotten a turbulent season back on track is because of the bond they have off the court as much as the continuity they’ve developed on it over the years. It’s less about pick-and-roll chemistry and more about a private pick-me-up one gets from the another in tough times.
And it got no tougher than the holiday season for two of the franchise’s key catalyst. As Randolph was away dealing with his mother’s death, Conley was recovering from three fractured vertebrae in his back.
“When you’re down, we’ll rally around you and take care of you,” Gasol said. “When things like that happen in your life, you rely on your friends and your brothers. There are a few of us who have been here with Zach since he got here, and what we are to each other goes deeper than basketball. Basketball is secondary to our relationship. We’re personal with each other. We care dearly about each other. Basketball is what we do; not what we are. Not everyone on the outside understand it, but we know.”
Gasol then paused for a few seconds of silence before he spoke again.
“I’m just happy to see Zach happy now,” Gasol said. “That’s really the best way to put it.”
Fizdale respects how Zach has handled such a heavy burden this season, from dealing with coming off the bench full time for the first time in over a decade to moving on from a personal tragedy at home. A basketball season kept going, and Randolph eventually had to regain his footing.
“Life is going to hit you – it hits all of us at some point,” Fizdale said. “And with getting hit with so many things through the year, he’s handled it well. It’s adversity, and he’s taken an opportunity to really grow from all of this. He’s taken an opportunity to lead, and you can now see the continuous results from it.”
Conley agreed.
“I think a lot of it is he’s finally at peace with things,” Conley said. “He’s finally back mentally. Physically, he feels good and he looks as conditioned as he’s ever been. Yet, he’s still the same killer on the glass and offensively, like you expect. That’s all coming together at the right time for him.”
The grittiest Grizzly has found a way to grind through it all. The smile is back. So are the competitive scowl and growl. Z-Bo doesn’t instinctively check his cell for those special texts as much now.
He knows Mae is watching.
He realizes she never stopped.
“I’ve been going through a lot,” Randolph admits. “You really have to keep your head strong through something like that, because it’s been hard, man. And I try to just take it how it comes, man. It’s about being thankful, too. I’ve been going through a lot. But I’ve been blessed as I go through it.”
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Michael Wallace are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its Basketball Operations staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Memphis Grizzlies and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.