Zach Randolph Injury: Losing Star Will Cripple Memphis Grizzlies

Power forward Zach Randolph, who starred for the Memphis Grizzlies last season, reportedly could miss eight weeks after tearing his MCL.

According to The Commercial Appeal, an MRI revealed a slight tear on Randolph's right knee after he fell hard in the final seconds of the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.

Randolph, who averaged 20.1 points and 12.2 rebounds last season, was also a pivotal part of the Grizzlies' playoff push, averaging 22.2 points and 10.4 rebounds.

Randolph is by far the Grizzlies' best player. What's worse, they don't have a reputable replacement, sporting Dante Cunningham and the recently-acquired Marreese Speights.

For a team that is currently 2-3, that's certainly not a good sign. Cunningham went 3-for-9 with seven points and four rebounds against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. He also played only 19 minutes.

What the Grizzlies are probably going to have to do, as they did against the Kings, is play small ball. Unfortunately, this isn't their creed and it likely won't work out very well in the long run (no, I don't think a win against the Kings is a grand accomplishment).

There's no way around it, the loss of Randolph is devastating. He's one player the Grizzlies couldn't afford to lose and it hurts even more that he's out for eight weeks in a shortened season.

The Grizzlies barely captured the Western Conference's No. 8 seed last season with a 46-36 mark. How can they possibly make the playoffs without Randolph, barring a collapse by a good portion of the conference?