As the Memphis Grizzlies' roster has been through some changes going back to the trade deadline, the team is also filled with young talent, just like rookie Cedric Coward. With the Grizzlies' rookie in Coward having been acknowledged by the NBA as being a part of the NBA Rising Stars event during All-Star weekend, it looks like he won't be able to participate.
According to Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal, which covers Memphis, Coward is going to miss Friday night's event as the forward is dealing with “right knee soreness.” The plan is to get the injury re-evaluated after the festivities and the break.
While the team is going to play it safe with Coward, the 22-year-old out of Washington State did miss the last game before the All-Star break with the same issue. It remains to be seen if the injury will impact him enough to miss Feb. 20's game against the Utah Jazz when Memphis comes back from the break.
However, his inclusion in the Rising Stars event made sense, as he's stood out as a rookie despite the learning experience.
“I mean, it's not just a mental test or emotional, but also a physical test for (Coward),” head coach Tuomas Iisalo said, according to ClutchPoints' Chris Dodson. “He doesn't have that load, you know, that you have from previous years or even from the summer. So, he's had to play catch-up the whole season, and we saw some early signs of that with the stress reaction in his foot.”
Grizzlies' Tuomas Iisalo on Cedric Coward's rookie season
So far this season, Coward has averaged 13.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while shooting 46.8 percent from the field to go along with 34 percent from beyond the arc. Iisalo would go into more about Coward's rookie season thus far.
“There's been some other stuff, but (Coward) has done a great job,” Iisalo said. “I try to rein myself in to keep the minutes to an acceptable amount so that he can also keep practicing at the same time,” Iisalo noted. “Because it's one thing to play heavy minutes in the games, but if those minutes come out of the practice reps, that's also not good for a player that clearly needs to get better to reach the highest levels.”
At any rate, it remains to be seen if Coward misses more time.
