It’s not a coincidence that Memphis’ best two shooting months have been the two since the Gay trade. The Grizzlies are now shooting it from deep more efficiently, and are taking care of the basketball at an elite level this month. And with Gay out of the picture, Gasol and Randolph have been more efficient with just a slight uptick in playing time. For the frontcourt duo, it was certainly addition by subtraction.
| Randolph | Minutes | PPG | FG% |
| January | 34.6 | 13.1 | 43.5 |
| February | 35.6 | 16.2 | 44.2 |
| March | 37.1 | 16 | 45.5 |
| Gasol | Minutes | PPG | FG% |
| January | 34 | 12.8 | 47.2 |
| February | 34.6 | 13.9 | 43.9 |
| March | 38.1 | 17 | 55.6 |
As for Prince, Gay’s replacement as Memphis’ starting small forward, his numbers have slightly improved as he has adjusted to his role and as the team has transitioned into life without Gay.
| Prince | PPG | FG% | Reb | Ast |
| January | 9.9 | 40 | 4.8 | 2.8 |
| February | 8.9 | 45.5 | 3.5 | 2.3 |
| March | 10.1 | 40.7 | 6 | 2.7 |
Prince’s shooting numbers are a marked improvement over Gay, and Memphis benefits because Gay’s 16 or 17 shots per game are being distributed among Grizzlies players who shoot a higher percentage from the field, including Randolph, Gasol, Prince, Davis and Daye. Davis’ minutes have significantly decreased, but he is still shooting well over 50 percent from the field and averaging 6.1 rebounds in 20 minutes in March (that’s 10.98 rebounds per 36). Daye is shooting 45.5 percent with the Grizzlies, and he is another contributor to the team’s offensive efficiency without Gay in the fold.
But the Grizzlies didn’t only improve offensively since trading Gay. Regarded as one of the top defensive teams in the NBA, Memphis further improved its field goal defense with the addition of Prince, a pretty good defender in his own right.
| Memphis D | Winning % | FG% | 3FG% | Turnovers |
| November | 92.3 | 42.5 | 34.6 | 16.6 |
| December | 50 | 43.7 | 34.7 | 16.9 |
| January | 58.8 | 44.7 | 37.9 | 14.3 |
| February | 81.8 | 44.8 | 35.4 | 16.7 |
| March | 72.7 | 41.4 | 26.6 | 12.9 |
After being blasted by some people for trading away Gay, it’s become apparent that Pera, Levien and Hollinger made a good move that not only gave the team financial flexibility but also improved the on-court product. Not bad for a team just looking to shed some long-term salary.
Shlomo Sprung loves advanced statistics and the way they explain what happens on the court. He is also the web editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and a writer for Football.com. A 2011 graduate of Columbia University’s Journalism School, he has previously worked for the New York Knicks, The Sporting News, Business Insider and other publications. His website is SprungOnSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
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