Grading Zach Edey's shaky Grizzlies debut: Expect a rebound

The highly touted rookie center the Grizzlies selected with the ninth overall pick of the draft made his NBA regular season debut matching up against a familiar foe. Zach Edey made his NBA Summer League debut with a matchup against Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler and got the best of him in that with a 14 points and 15 rebounds performance.

However, the start to his NBA regular season career started slowly as nerves and gaining a connection with the other starters was out of sorts to begin the game. He scored his first points off an offensive rebound putback which bolds well for what the Grizzlies will need from him this season.

He fouled out of the game early in the fourth quarter in what was mostly a pedestrian performance. However, there were some good things to take from his first career game that can translate for the team's future.

Scoring

After attempting only one shot attempt in the first half, Edey got a couple of looks early in the third but struggled to finish off a lob and an entry pass before committing his fourth foul. He did score off another putback but had to sit for the rest of the quarter due to foul trouble.

The team finally looked to get him the ball on the block on the team's first offensive possession of the first quarter and it led to a foul. However, Edey missed both free throws, to the happiness of the Utah crowd that won free chicken because of it.

He finished his first career game with five points on 2-4 shooting, including 1-5 from the free throw line. He was a decent free throw shooter in his collegiate career (70.6%), so expect better from him moving forward.

Rebounding

Considering his limited minutes due to foul trouble, Edey performed well in the rebounding department (five rebounds). His first two baskets came off of offensive rebounds and another offensive board nearly led to a Grizzlies made three in the third quarter. Rebounding is the number one thing the Grizzlies need from him and he excelled at that in his NBA debut where he played less than 15 minutes.

Defense

The defense was decent as the Jazz had to make business decisions when attacking the paint and although Edey had no blocks in the first half, he altered several shots at the rim. However, foul trouble would sit him down for the majority of the first half, leading to him only playing eight minutes.

The Jazz attacked Edey in the second half and the foul troubles continued as the rookie failed to secure a block in his NBA debut.

Final grade: C