It is fairly good to have a 7-foot-4, 300-pound “enforcer” in your basketball workforce. That is what former Purdue star and Memphis Grizzlies middle Zach Edey has change into throughout his rookie season within the NBA, in accordance with teammate and league celebrity Ja Morant.
Edey, who was the eighth total choice within the 2024 NBA Draft, put his enforcer abilities on full show Saturday evening when the Grizzlies hosted the Utah Jazz. Early within the second quarter, issues bought chippy between the 7-foot-4 middle and Utah’s Drew Eubanks.
Tempers began flaring early, when Morant and Keyonte George bought right into a scuffle. Then, shortly after that, issues bought chippy between Eubanks and Edey, resulting in an ejection for Eubanks.
Drew Eubanks ejected has been ejected after this play on Zach Edey. pic.twitter.com/Tq2u0uhB4L
— Grizzlies On FanDuel Sports activities Community (@FDSN_Grizzlies) January 26, 2025
After the sport, Morant shared a humorous second he had with Edey after the primary scuffle unfolded. It exhibits why the 7-foot-4 middle has change into so popular with his teammates.
“It was a display and bro form of mugged me,” Morant mentioned in a video posted by Griffin DeMarrais of Motion Information 5. “Then Zach came visiting and like, ‘He bothering you?’ I am like, ‘Nah, bro.’ Then the primary technical occurred, so I suppose Zach thought I used to be mendacity and he turned the enforcer that he’s for this workforce.
“Shout out to my huge fella. I bought that tech for him, so, he would not have to fret about it popping out of pocket.”
— Griffin S. DeMarrais (@GDeMarraisTV) January 26, 2025
Defending your teammates is an efficient solution to construct workforce chemistry. Clearly, Edey has embraced his position in his first season within the NBA.
Edey had a huge night for the Grizzlies on Saturday, scoring 19 factors, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking 4 pictures. Memphis defeated Utah 125-103 to enhance to 31-15 on the season.
The rookie has performed nicely in his final two video games. In Friday’s win over New Orleans, he posted one other double-double, ending the evening with 13 factors and 11 rebounds.
Edey is having fun with a strong rookie marketing campaign so far. Though he is battled some accidents early, he is nonetheless averaging 9.6 factors, 7.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per sport. Maybe extra impressively, he is capturing 58.3% from the ground and 40% from 3-point vary.
Not dangerous for a participant who tried simply two 3-pointers in his total four-year profession at Purdue.
“Enforcer Edey” and the Grizzlies will return to motion on Monday evening, touring to The Massive Apple to tackle the New York Knicks at Madison Sq. Backyard (7:30 p.m. ET).
DUKE FANS SHOW LOVE FOR GILLIS: Mason Gillis was an enormous motive for No. 2 Duke’s win over Wake Forest on Saturday, ending the sport with 11 factors and 6 rebounds in a 63-56 victory. CLICK HERE
PURDUE HAD DIFFERENT LOOK: Michigan coach Dusty Might gave plenty of credit score to Purdue’s competitiveness on Friday evening, saying the Boilermakers had a “totally different look” vs. the Wolverines. CLICK HERE
WHAT PAINTER SAID: Purdue defeated one other ranked opponent on Friday, taking down No. 21 Michigan. This is every part coach Matt Painter mentioned after the victory. CLICK HERE
