Zach Edey scored 8 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in his hometown Monday as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Toronto Raptors 118-102 at Scotiabank Arena, and coach Tuomas Iisalo used the night to describe what he called a 'common project' with the 7-foot-3 center, Yahoo Sports reported.
Memphis was plus-11 in Edey's 22 minutes, 45 seconds. Born in Toronto, he went 2 of 3 from the field and 4 of 4 at the free-throw line, with 7 of his rebounds on the defensive end. After Quinten Post left for good less than two minutes into his night, with 4:03 left in the first quarter, and with Isaiah Stewart out a second straight game because of a bruised right knee, Edey was the only center the Grizzlies used. Iisalo said that forced lineups that had never been on the floor together.
'Zach always does great,' Iisalo said. 'It doesn't always show up on the box score, but his impact is felt every night.' He said opponents get 'very paranoid about Zach getting open looks,' so a defender often leaves the rim to stay near Edey, opening lanes for teammates.
Edey blocked an RJ Barrett layup with 9:29 left in the third, with Memphis ahead 65-55, and the Grizzlies scored the next 6 points. A successful Iisalo challenge with 9:05 left in the fourth led to two Edey free throws. His hook from Cameron Boozer with 3:49 to go made it 113-97.
Iisalo called Edey a unique type and said their 'common project' is getting him to use those strengths while building 'this general library of basketball knowledge' so he can stay on the floor against smaller or shooting lineups, work that 'is gonna take some time.' He also said Edey 'is not afraid of looking bad' and is willing to put himself out there and improve, 'a requirement for learning.'
Across eight games before Monday, Edey averaged 8.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.4 blocks in 20.5 minutes, shooting 53.3 percent. Memphis drafted him ninth overall in 2024 out of Purdue, a two-time national player of the year, in his third NBA season.
Sources: Yahoo Sports