There is a cloud in the "Yanzi Chunqiu Inner Miscellaneous": "Oranges born in Huainan are oranges, and those born in Huaibei are citrus, and the leaves are similar, but in fact, the taste is different." So what? Soil and water are also different. "The impact of the environment is really big, for example, Zach Randolph...
On March 21, Beijing time, the recently in poor condition of the Grizzlies defeated the Clippers 113-102 at home. The one who helped the Grizzlies win was Zach Randolph, who had just returned from injury. In this game, Randolph, 34 years old and 247 days old, cut a career first triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. In NBA history, there are only two players older than Randolph to get their first triple-doubles, Randolph's Grizzlies teammate Matt Barnes, who won his first triple-double a few days ago when he was 36 years and 2 days old, and Dennis Rodman, 34 years and 248 days.
After the game, everyone from Clippers coach Rivers to Grizzlies teammate Tony Allen was impressed by Randolph's performance. Randolph himself said, "It's a team win, we do everything we can, and then the win comes." It wouldn't be surprising for Randolph to say such a thing now, but if Randolph had talked about the team many years ago, it would have made people think he was insincere. Because, many years ago, Randolph was seen as a "cancer."
The story of Zach Randolph begins with the 2001 draft. That year, Kwame Brown became the most comical player, and Zach Randolph was selected by the Blazers with the 19th pick in the first round to the NBA. Looking back at that year's draft, Randolph, even if he won't be selected, will probably be in the top 6 – at present, only 6 rookies from 2001 are still fighting in the NBA.
Of course, this is all empty talk, and Randolph's first two years with the Trail Blazers were mostly a "soy sauce" role. However, in the playoffs of the 2002-2003 season, this situation finally changed. That year, the Trail Blazers, led by Pippen and Rashid Wallace, met the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. The Mavericks soon took a 3-0 lead, and in Game 4, Blazers Pippen and Anderson were sidelined due to injury, giving Randolph the first chance to start in the playoffs. Randolph didn't waste any chances, and with his 25 points and 15 rebounds, the Blazers, who had already suffered 10 consecutive losses in the playoffs, finally won a 98-78 victory.
Randolph's magic continued, in the fifth game, he had 22 points and 9 rebounds, and the Blazers won 103-99; in the sixth game, he had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Blazers beat the Mavericks 125-103, dragging the game into the seventh game. Although the Mavericks eventually won the Tiebreaker 107-95, Randolph's fate has changed because of this series.
The following 2003-2004 season, because of the departure of Pippen and Sabonis, and the injury of Bunch Wells, it was natural for Randolph, who had already played well, to secure the Blazers' starting position. And Randolph did not live up to the trust of the team, with 20.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, and Randolph won the Player Award for the Most Improved Player that season. The crazy money-burning Blazers of that era certainly did not skimp on Randolph, and in the 2005-2006 season, Randolph received an annual salary of $10.67 million, becoming the second highest salary in the team after Ratliff. However, the Blazers of that era also had a "good name" of the "Prison Blazers", in such an environment, Randolph once fought with teammate Patterson and was banned from the team.
Of course, that's not the most important thing, what matters is that after Randolph gradually became the leader of the team, the Trail Blazers' results began to plummet and they missed the playoffs in a row. Of course, this cannot be Landolph's fault alone, but because of the salary, because of the data, because of his temper, Randolph must bear part of the responsibility for this. As a result, At that time, Randolph became regarded as a "cancer" by many fans, and even some fans jokingly called him "rotten tofu". The Trail Blazers wouldn't know about the "rotten tofu," but they ultimately decided to trust Brandon Roy and Auden. In 2007, Randolph, who couldn't lead the team to victory and had a lot of off-court troubles, was traded to the New York Knicks — jumping from one bad team to another.
After the Knicks had an equally unsatisfactory period, Randolph was traded to the Clippers. A player who is "worth" tens of millions of dollars beats so often over time may also show that Randolph is more like "rotten tofu". But now it seems that this cannot be blamed entirely on Randolph's professional attitude. In 2009, the 28-year-old Randolph was traded again, from the Clippers to the Grizzlies — Randolph seems to be related to the Grizzlies, his career-high 43 points and the second-high 42 points, all of which he got when he played against the Grizzlies while playing for the Blazers; and as early as 2007, the Grizzlies had thought about getting him through trade.
In his first season with the Grizzlies, Randolph was named to the All-Star bench for the first time in his career, and in the 2010-2011 season, he helped the Grizzlies create a "black eight miracle" in the first round of the playoffs , when the Grizzlies eliminated the Spurs 4-2. In the sixth game between the two sides, Randolph scored 13 points in the last five minutes and 31 points in the whole game, helping the Grizzlies eliminate the Spurs 99-91. From the first brilliant chapter of his career in the playoffs in 2002 to leading the team to create the "Black Eight Miracle" in 2011, Zach Randolph, who entered the year of establishment, will no longer be regarded as "rotten tofu".
Just a few months ago, "Old Cannon" starring Feng Xiaogang received a good box office. It's hard to say whether the "old cannon" is a good guy or a bad guy, but it's safe to say that the "old cannon" will gain the respect of others in his own world. The same is true for Zach Randolph today, you give him an environment he likes, he not only won't cause trouble, but he can also become a qualified big brother.
Perhaps, Randolph should thank the Grizzlies, but who should thank whom, and who can say...