Grizzlies across America

The Memphis Grizzlies are getting more national media attention these days.

Granted, this article by Sport's Illustrated's Chris Ballard is about Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith, but he does mention Memphis forward Zach Randolph.

The reference has to do with players moving inside the 3-point line in order to bolster their production. Players who have done this are scoring more points with a higher shooting percentage, which is translating into more wins for their respective franchises.

Ballard mentions Randolph and Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors as two examples of this.

Randolph's decision to take higher percentage shots by moving closer to the basket has made him a much more respected and well-rounded player.

Z-Bo still likes to jack the 3s, but not as often as he has in his career leading up to this season. So far this season, he has attempted 45 3-pointers. In 2007-2008, he attempted 80 3s and in 2008-2009, 97 attempts.

He is shooting 27 percent from behind the arc this season, down from his career average of 28 percent.

Keep in mind that Randolph has become the go-to-guy for the Grizzlies' last-second shot attempts since burying a shot that covered the distance of the court earlier this season. that means that some of his attempts are coming right before the buzzer sound to end the quarter, half or game.

Teams still have to respect Randolph's ability to hit the 17-foot jumpshot as well. When he get the ball on the right side of the court from 17 feet out, he is almost unstoppable without the defense employing a double-team.

Randolph is shooting the second highest field goal percentage of his career. He shot better than 51 percent in his second season and right now he is shooting 49 percent.

He can shoot the jumper, or he can drive to his left (he is left-handed) and usually get a good look at the basket from about three feet out. Once Randolph gets a man on his hip and puts the ball on the floor, he commands that double-team.

In the past, this is where Randolph would always look to score. Now he recognizes the defense and finProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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the open man. Z-Bo is on pace to break his season-high for assists. In 2003-2004, he recorded 163 assists. As of March 24, 2010, he has 138 assists with 11 games remaining in the season.

He has been forced to become the main offensive weapon several times this season and the Grizzlies are the beneficiaries of his hard work and ability to score.

He had been criticized in the past for taking too many shots, or being a "black hole" on offense, meaning that once the ball got to him, it never went to anyone else.

Well, the times they are a changin'.