Zach Randolph tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee on Jan. 1. Â He was expected to return but it seems unlikely. Â Read more after the jump.
Though the Grizzlies announced (Zach) Randolph is expected to be out eight weeks from the time of his injury,(Memphis coach Lionel) Hollins said he doesn’t expect his star forward back this season. Even if Randolph does return, it could be difficult to reincorporate him after such a long layoff.  Rudy Gay has taken his place as the leader of the team.  Gay played in just 54 games last season before injuring his shoulder on Feb. 15, 2010, and was on the sidelines during the Grizzlies’ impressive playoff run. Gay leads Memphis in scoring this season with 18.7 points per game.
“When Zach went out, (Gay) knew he had to be the leader and make these guys better,†Hollins told Yahoo!
Gay, meanwhile, is motivated by the fact that the Grizzlies, without him, beat the Spurs and took the Thunder to seven games in last season’s playoffs.
“People were saying they did it without me,†Gay said, per Yahoo! “It would mean a lot for me to make the playoffs to show how good this team is—not just me—and how much of an impact I could have on it.â€
