The Grizzlies unveiled a new-look lineup for Saturday’s game in Cleveland, with Zach Edey making his season debut and rookie Cedric Coward joining him as a starter.
Edey missed the first 13 games of the season while recovering from offseason surgery on his left ankle. The 7’4″ center took over the starting job as a rookie, averaging 9.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 66 games while shooting 58% from the field. He finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting.
Coward is off to a strong start after being selected with the 11th pick in this year’s draft, putting up 14.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists through 13 games while playing 26.8 minutes per night. He was listed as doubtful earlier today due to soreness in his right foot, but he was later upgraded to questionable and then given clearance to play.
The lineup changes mean Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jock Landale are coming off the bench after beginning the season as starters. For Caldwell-Pope, who was acquired from Orlando this summer as part of the Desmond Bane trade, it’s his first game as a reserve since he was with the Lakers during the 2019/2020 season, notes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). The 32-year-old shooting guard has gotten off to a rough start, averaging 8.1 PPG while shooting career lows from the field (35.1%) and three-point range (29.8%). He has been experiencing elbow soreness, which was aggravated during Wednesday’s game, but he’s able to play today, according to Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com (Twitter link).
Landale is a career backup who was signed as a free agent this summer to provide depth at center and handle the starting duties until Edey was healthy. He’s taken advantage of the opportunity by averaging career highs of 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds through 13 games while shooting 56.8% from the floor and 48.5% from long distance.
Edey’s return is welcome news for the Grizzlies, who are off to a 4-9 start that included an early-season blowup between head coach Tuomas Iisalo and star guard Ja Morant. Memphis has lost three straight games, including a 131-95 embarrassment Wednesday night in Boston.
The Grizzlies still short-handed as Brandon Clarke and Scotty Pippen Jr. are recovering from surgery, Ty Jerome has a right calf strain, Olivier-Maxence Prosper has a left quad contusion and Javon Small will miss multiple weeks with turf toe.