5-3 is the Grizzlies' record since Zach Edey made his season debut on November 15th at the Cleveland Cavaliers. After losing their first two games, which went down to the wire, the Grizzlies have won five of their last six games. Their one loss came to the Denver Nuggets, a game in which Edey left after playing less than six minutes with a migraine.
The second-year big man has arguably been the Grizzlies' best player since returning, and the most impactful player on the team. His presence has raised the play of others, as Jaylen Wells and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are slowly emerging from their early-season shooting struggles. Edey's performance as the starting big man has the Grizzlies thinking they can truly flip their season around due to his impact in their previous areas of weakness.
The Grizzlies' rim protection has become a strength
Jock Landale was the Grizzlies' starting center in their first 13 games of the season, and while he tried his best defending at the rim, the team struggled. Opposing teams were scoring at will in the paint against a Grizzlies team without a rim threat. Jaren Jackson Jr. is a former blocks leader, but has always operated best beside another rim protector at center.
Zach Edey is averaging 2.3 blocks since returning to the lineup and nearly had more blocks in their last game against the Sacramento Kings (5) than Jock Landale had as the starter during the team's first 13 games (6). Edey's game also opened up scoring opportunities for Jaren Jackson Jr., as he has had three 20+ point games since his return, versus only two 20+ point games in their first 13 games without Edey.
Rebounding was also a struggle for the Grizzlies as Santi Aldama was the only player averaging over six rebounds per game. Zach Edey is averaging 11.3 rebounds per game and has had four (!!!) games of at least 15 rebounds in their last five games. That kind of production explains the turnaround from seven games under .500 (4-11) to a reasonable three games under .500 (9-12) for the surging Memphis Grizzlies.
A career high in points (32) and blocks (5) in their last game against the Kings has everyone who doubted Edey coming into the NBA questioning their thought processes around draft time. It is still early in his career, but Edey is proving all of his doubters wrong, and the Grizzlies are grateful for it as he might have saved their season from completely falling off the rails.