The Memphis Grizzlies will have to face MVP favorite Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 without their leading scorer Zach Randolph, who was suspended by the league on Friday night for punching Thunder center Steven Adams in the fourth quarter of Game 6.
As ESPN.com is reporting, the incident happened with less than seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of the Thunder's 104-84 rout of the Grizzlies. Randolph and Adams got entangled in a rebounding play and as they were going to the basket of the Grizzlies, the former elbowed the rookie in the midsection before punching him with his right hand.
The news comes as a severe blow to the chances of the Grizzlies upsetting the second-seeded Thunder. Aside from averaging a team-high 18.2 points, Randolph is one half of one of the league's best and most rugged frontcourts in tandem with center Marc Gasol. Aside from his scoring, the Grizzlies will also miss his 8.7 rebounds per game average.
The Grizzlies have yet to comment on the suspension, although making a comment is the least of their concerns now that their top inside player is out and their lead guard, Mike Conley, is being slowed down by a right hamstring injury.
Conley, however, expects to play on Saturday. He told the Associated Press via Yahoo!: "Me being banged up, you're going to have to ask more out of different guys, see a lot of guys step up. We're still excited and confident going into tomorrow's game, regardless of injuries and how last night's game went.''
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