Teams aim to be hitting on all cylinders going into the postseason. Rookies are trying to avoid the proverbial ‘wall' midway through the regular season though. Thankfully for Zach Edey's learning curve and the Memphis Grizzlies, everyone is pulling in the same direction without much ego involved. The rookie big man from Purdue explained to Clutchpoints what that looks like after Ja Morant's Grizzlies got humbled by the Houston Rockets.
The Grizzlies (26-15) have been jostling with the Rockets (27-12) for second place in the Western Conference all season. Memphis is 0-3 versus Houston this season but the locker room still believes the best is yet to come for this group. Edey had to smile when asked if being coached hard by Ja Morant and Taylor Jenkins during games was bothersome.
“Their intensity does not matter. I played hockey growing up. I've been cussed and (expletive deleted) since I started playing sports,” Edey noted. “It's just about the message and they are saying the right things because they want me to do well…They are just telling me things that they see. I don't really pay attention to the tone or anything like that.”

Now 40 games into a rookie season with the Grizzlies, Edey is staring down and attempting to run through the rookie wall. As for the message from the rest of the team to the 22-year-old?
“Just keep going. Keep playing the way I play. Keep being physical, keep going out there and giving it everything I've got,” stressed Edey. “It's not one particular message, just keep going.”
Well, sort of but not always. Edey got ahead of the game and drew the ire of one official in Houston. The delay of game warning for the Grizzlies was not due to Edey trying to get under the skin of Dillon Brooks and the Houston Rockets.
“I didn't know the rule,” Eedey admitted. “I was just trying to get position.”
Rebounding positioning is more important than a random mid-game jump ball situation. Jaren Jackson Jr., now 10th all-time in franchise history for rebounds, needs Edey's help to win the board-clearing battles. Edey's plan of action as Jackson Jr.'s sidekick is simple.
“Encourage him,” Edey laughed. “Tell him good job and go get another one!”
As for fouling out against the Rockets? Edey had only one foul in the first half of the 120-118 loss in Houston. The officials did not give Edey or the Grizzlies much feedback after committing five infractions in the second half.
“There is not much to say,” Edey shared. “Just don't foul.”
Edey and the Grizzlies got the best of Victor Wembanyama's San Antonio Spurs in a bounce-back 129-115 win. There is no rest on the horizon for the rookie though. Memphis will close out the four-game road trip with another matchup against the Spurs on January 17. Then it's back home to tussle with Rudy Gobert's Minnesota Timberwolves.
Thanks to some early hockey lessons, Zach Edey is ready to run headfirst into the challenge.