Zach Randolph Knee Injury Will Leave Grizzlies For 6-8 Weeks

Zach Randolph Injury: Z-Bo Out 6-8 Weeks With Torn MCL

The Memphis Grizzlies announced Zach Randolph will be out for 6-8 weeks with a torn MCL, Yahoo! Sports' Marc Spears reported today. The injury happened Sunday and was thought to be just a contusion, but obviously tests have confirmed that it's far worse than originally feared.

The Grizzlies are already missing their backup forward, Darrell Arthur, who suffered a season-ending knee injury during preseason practice. Losing Arthur hurt back then; losing Randolph, the team's best player and the MVP of Memphis' stunning playoff run last year, could prove crippling. Especially given the compressed schedule.

In a normal NBA season, missing 6-8 weeks would be bad. With this year's schedule, though, there are more games crammed into each week, meaning that prolonged injuries will hit teams harder than ever. And with Arthur gone for the year and now Randolph gone till around the All-Star game, no team is getting hit harder by injuries than the Memphis Grizzlies.

Zach Randolph Injury Could Leave Grizzlies Without Star For Two Months

Zach Randolph could miss up to two months due to a knee ligament tear suffered early in the Memphis Grizzlies' Sunday loss to the Chicago Bulls, reports Ron Tillery of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal. Randolph's injury initially looked ugly, but the news was positive after the initial examination, and the All-Star power forward was expected to miss only a couple of games.

But a closer look during Z-Bo's recovery has killed that hope, and Randolph will need some serious time on the shelf.

The Grizzlies are reportedly in the process of acquiring Philadelphia 76ers forward Marreese Speights in a trade sending guard Xavier Henry to the New Orleans Hornets. Speights may either plug into Randolph's starting spot or fill in behind Dante Cunningham, who started for Randolph on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings. Sam Young played a smallball four behind Cunningham on Tuesday, and lit the small Kings up for 20 points.

Randolph gives the Grizzlies two seemingly devastating injuries in two years; the team missed Rudy Gay for the entire post-All-Star break last season due to a separated shoulder. Despite that loss, the Grizzlies made the playoffs and beat the No. 1 seed San Antonio Spurs in the first round. Memphis hopes to repeat the task this season, though the team's frontcourt depth is much more shallow than the wing depth had been last season.

For more on the Grizz, visit Straight Outta Vancouver.

Zach Randolph Injury: Video Shows Ugly Knee Injury For Grizzlies Forward

Zach Randolph suffered a knee injury during the first quarter of the Memphis Grizzlies game against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night. Randolph suffered the knee injury when teammate O.J. Mayo fell into him following a blocked shot.