MikeCheck: Edey’s dominance means ‘everything’ as Grizzlies gain stride entering December
Michael WallaceSAN ANTONIO – Moments after exiting the court following the most dominant performance of his young NBA career, Zach Edey celebrated the moment by ducking into the arena’s makeshift weight room for a grueling postgame workout.
Thirty minutes later, still drenched in sweat and adrenaline, a broad smile emerged as the 7-foot-4 center reflected on the heavy lifting he’s provided the Grizzlies these past two weeks.
Since his Nov. 15 season debut after returning from summer ankle surgery, Edey leads all NBA players in defensive rating. With him back in the fold and carrying more weight with seemingly every possession, Memphis has won five of its past six games.
After stumbling into November, the Grizzlies are surging into December.
The anchor Edey provides on defense and the gravitational pull he generates offensively have freed multiple teammates to deliver their most productive stretches of the season. So, exactly what has Edey’s impact meant to the Grizzlies at this crucial stage of their season?
“Everything,” coach Tuomas Iisalo insisted. “Great job overall by him and the whole team for realizing that’s where the advantage is.”
The Grizzlies (9-12) closed out November on their first three-game winning streak of the season. Edey delivered a career night Sunday in Sacramento, where he finished with 32 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks in just under 30 minutes during a 115-107 victory against the Kings.
That win moved the Grizzlies to 3-0 on their road trip that concludes with Tuesday’s visit to San Antonio to face the Spurs. The breakout effort against the Kings came two days after Edey had 19 rebounds and three blocks as Memphis rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Clippers.
Memphis opened the trip last Wednesday in New Orleans, where it came back from a 15-point deficit to defeat the Pelicans after Edey posted 21 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks.
The second-year center is thriving in Iisalo’s system and providing a level of production reminiscent of his dominance in college as a NCAA two-time national player of the year.
“I’ve just been really comfortable this year,” Edey said of a stretch that made him a finalist for NBA Western Conference Player of the Week honors. “I’ve been settling in, feeling like I’m back at Purdue a little bit – just comfortable. It feels like everybody’s been playing good basketball, executing the gameplan and the vision. And that’s what we’ve been working for.”
The Grizzlies are eager to continue working to turn a corner after a tumultuous start to the season that included losing 11 of their first 15 games. Injuries contributed to the sluggish start, with Edey and two-time NBA All-Star Jaren Jackson Jr. sidelined in training camp. Top free-agent acquisition Ty Jerome has yet to play this season after suffering a calf strain in the preseason. And a calf strain has also sidelined franchise catalyst Ja Morant the past two weeks.
The Grizzlies faced a brutal schedule to open the season, but have started to turn things around as Edey’s return coincided with an opportunistic stretch against teams that also stumbled early.
The Pelicans, Clippers and Kings – the three worst teams in the West standings – entered December with a combined 13-49 record. The calendar now flips to a month in which Memphis plays eight of 12 games against teams with losing records. So far this season, the Grizzlies are 8-3 against teams with below-.500 records and 1-9 against opponents with winning records.
It’s lined up as a confidence-boosting run for a team that endured initial challenges acclimating to Iisalo’s system in his first full season after he served as interim coach late last season.
Through the first quarter of this season, the Grizzlies battled through injuries, lineup changes, frustrations adapting to Iisalo’s rotation patterns and a stretch of nine losses in 10 games, including seven by double figures. But there’s been a different spirit about this team recently.
The rebounding problems ceased the moment Edey was inserted into the lineup. Memphis has since outrebounded opponents by nearly a dozen boards a game. Role players such as Cam Spencer, Jaylen Wells, Vince Williams Jr. and Santi Aldama have consistently produced. And Jackson Jr. has reemerged to perform at an All-Star level on this trip.
Beyond that, the Grizzlies’ late-game defense and execution have flourished. The comeback wins against the Pelicans and Clippers showed encouraging levels of resolve and growth. The 44 points Memphis allowed in the second half against the Clippers were the fewest it surrendered in a half this season. The Grizzlies held the Kings to just 20 points in the fourth quarter Sunday.
Overall, Memphis had the NBA’s 23rd-rated defense through the first 13 games of the season. In the eight games since Edey returned, the Grizzlies have posted the league’s fifth-best defensive rating.
“We have a young team, but you’d never be able to tell that in crunch time the way guys have been executing,” Iisalo evaluated. “So, we just keep rinsing and repeating. It’s a very unified group right now. That’s everything. You never get to choose where you start from. We started the season in a bit of chaotic circumstances with guys having to learn new positions, having to miss (time) and some injuries. We had to rearrange a lot of things, especially offensively.”
But Iisalo saw a team that kept grinding through growing pains to experience this growth spurt.
“Guys have just put their heads down and kept working” Iisalo continued. “These types of wins and this road trip just bring a lot of belief in what we’re doing, that there’s a purpose to it. Ultimately, what you want in your professional life is to do something that has meaning. We’ve found that in the work we do on a daily basis. And it’s been paying off for us.”
The recent results have confirmed the Grizzlies are on the right track.
“We’ve just gotten more connected as we’ve gone on this season,” Spencer believed. “We still have to put a full 48 minutes together, but we’ve just come together down the stretch to win games, and that’s what you have to do to be successful in the NBA.”
The quest now is to keep it going.
Last week, Wells predicted the Grizzlies were positioned to embark on an unbeaten road trip. He was simply confident in how the team had progressed in the weeks since Edey arrived.
Now, only a win against the Spurs stands between the Grizzlies reaching that target.
“The goal was to go 4-0,” Wells insisted. “We still have things we have to improve on, so look at the negatives and positives and move forward. It’s showing that what we’re doing is working, so just stay with it.”
In other words, keep finding Edey.
“My teammates are looking for me every possession down the floor,” Edey confessed. “I think there are times we get into a little trouble looking for me too much. But that’s a testament to the faith my team has in me. They’re always looking for me in my spots, always believing in me.”
That belief is reciprocated and spreading throughout the team.
All it took was a little time and some positive results.
“People just needed to have some patience,” Edey suggested. “It’s a new coach, new system, new everything. It’s going to be game by game, day by day. That’s how it’s been. Nothing good comes immediately. You have to wait a little bit.”
Perhaps that patience is starting to pay off.
Published on Dec 01, 2025
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