The Grizzlies need center Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph to step up soon, or they are going to see the 2012-13 season end with a thud.  Gasol has started both games for the Grizzlies in this series and he is averaging 42.5 minutes, 16.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  Randolph has also started both games in this series and he is averaging 28.0 minutes, 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  The Grizzlies need Gasol and Randolph to toughen up both offensively and defensively around the basket, or this series is going to be over soon.

33-year old small forward Tayshaun Prince has not played too well since coming from the Pistons in the Rudy Gay trade.  Prince has played in 33 games (32 starts) for the Grizzlies so far and he is averaging 31.8 minutes, 8.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.  Prince has now played in 78 games (77 starts) overall this year and he is averaging 32.2 minutes, 10.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.  He is one of the more overrated basketball players in recent memory and the Grizzlies are going to need him to step up in the playoffs.

The Grizzlies will be without 28-year old center indefinitely due to an abdominal tear.  He has played in 68 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 35.2 minutes, 14.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.7 blocked shots per game.  Gasol has 15 double/doubles so far this year.  This is a huge blow for the Grizzlies, as Gasol could miss the rest of the regular season.  23-year old Ed Davis and 24-year old Darrell Arthur will be asked to play more to replace Gasol.  Davis has played in 24 games (4 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 14.5 minutes, 5.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  Arthur has played in 48 games (2 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 17.1 minutes, 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  The Grizzlies hope to have Gasol back by the time the playoffs start.

UPDATE:  (3/28/2013) – Marc Gasol made an amazing return to action in last night’s loss.  He played 36 minutes last night in which he scored 13 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, stole the ball once and he blocked one shot.

The Grizzlies are likely going to bump up 24-year old shooting guard Quincy Pondexter’s P.T. the rest of the way this year.  He has played in 30 games (1 start) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 22.2 minutes, 6.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He is shooting 42.9% from the floor, 42% from three point range and 76.5% from the free throw line so far this year.  Pondexter has now played in 160 games (15 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 15.0 minutes, 4.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

Rudy Gay, Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington are all now ex-Grizzlies and the players they got in return for them have been getting mixed results.  Small forward Tayshaun Prince has replaced Rudy Gay in the starting lineup for the Grizzlies.  He has played in 6 games (5 starts) so far this year for the Grizzlies and he is averaging 32.3 minutes, 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.  24-year old Austin Daye has been Prince’s backup, just like he was in Detroit.  Daye has played in 6 games (0 starts) so far for the Grizzlies and he is averaging 13.3 minutes, 6.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  Power forward Ed Davis was one of the big keys to the Gay deal and he is off to a slow start for the Grizzlies.  Davis has played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies so far and he is averaging 8.0 minutes, 2.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  Power forward Jon Leuer is the only guy the Grizzlies got back for Speights, Ellington, Selby and a first round pick.  Leuer has played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 2.0 minutes, 0.5 points and 0.3 rebounds per game.  The Grizzlies need these guys to step up in the very near future.

The Grizzlies dealt Marreese Speights to save money on the salary cap, but they did it with the idea that 24-year old PF/C Darrell Arthur could handle a bigger role.  The Raptors wanted Arthur in the Rudy Gay trade, but the Grizzlies refused to add him to the deal.  Arthur has played in 34 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 18.0 minutes, 7.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  He has now played in 222 games (74 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 18.7 minutes, 6.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Despite getting Ed Davis from the Raptors, I still look for Arthur to see his fair share of P.T. as the Grizzlies’ front office likes him.

31-year old Tony Allen might have to pick up more minutes in the near future due to the knee injury to Quincy Pondexter and the recent deal of Wayne Ellington to the Cavs.  Allen has played in 39 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 27.1 minutes, 8.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  Allen is one of the best defensive players on the Grizzlies and that’s why he makes the big bucks.  19-year old rookie Tony Wroten is likely going to pick up a lot of P.T. until Pondexter returns to action.  Wroten has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 7.6 minutes, 3.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Maybe his shooting will improve (33.3% from the floor), now that he will be getting some consistent P.T. for a little while.

30-year old shooting guard Tony Allen is off to a slow start offensively for the Grizzlies.  He has played in 12 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 24.1 minutes, 7.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game.  But, he is only shooting 36.8% from the floor so far this year, and that just isn’t getting the job done.  That being said, Allen’s game is playing defense and I don’t see him losing minutes if he continues to struggle with his shot.  I just see him shooting less if he doesn’t straighten things out offensively.

30-year old power forward Zach Randolph never got into a groove in 2011-12 for the Grizzlies due to a knee injury which required surgery.  He played in 28 games (8 starts) for the Grizzlies last year and he averaged 26.3 minutes, 11.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  Randolph has now played in 184 games (163 starts) in his first three years with the Grizzlies and he is averaging 35.4 minutes, 19.1 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.  Randolph was really a force for the Grizzlies in his first two years with the team, and they hope he will get back to that type of player in 2012-13 after a summer of rest.  Randolph has now played in 690 games (542 starts) in his first 11 years in the NBA and he is averaging 31.4 minutes, 17.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

24-year old power forward Marreese Speights is a pretty good basketball player but he seems to rub his coaches the wrong way sometimes.  He has played in 15 games (13 starts) so far this year for the Grizzlies and he is averaging 20.7 minutes, 7.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  But, Speights is only shooting 41.2% from the floor, which isn’t good for a player his size.  If Speights ever really turns up the fire inside his body, he could really be a very solid basketball player.