Zach Edey Stats Tonight: How did the big man fare against the frontline of the Houston Rockets?

Zach Edey, the ninth overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, continues the journey of his rookie season as the Memphis Grizzlies defend their home court against the Houston Rockets on Thursday. Playing as a starter for the 27th time this season, Edey will try to help the Grizzlies — the no. 3 team in the Western Conference by virtue of their 31-16 record — close in on the Rockets (32-14), who currently have the no. 2 spot in the West standings.

In this game, Edey's contributions came mostly in the first quarter. Over two minutes into the contest, the big man caught a nice dish from Jaren Jackson Jr. and scored on a turnaround hook shot. On the next possession, it was Edey giving an assist to Desmond Bane for a layup.

Later in the first quarter, Edey picked up both a defensive rebound and an offensive board. The latter led to his second bucket of the game. Edey's scoring production remained at four points till the tail end of the third quarter, when he got fouled by Jock Landale and made one free throw to tally five points in the game. At the time, he also had two rebounds and two assists.

Edey's activity at the end of the third quarter turned out to be his last contributions to the Grizzlies' cause, as head coach Taylor Jenkins decided to give more minutes to Brandon Clarke and Santi Aldama in the fourth quarter. Memphis ended up securing a dramatic 120-119 win over the Rockets after Jackson made two clutch free throws with 8.6 seconds left.

Edey's final stat line is five points, two rebounds, and two assists. He also had two turnovers and four personal fouls. In terms of plus/minus, Edey was a -2 for this game.

Zach Edey stands up for All-Star teammate

Standing at 7-foot-4, Edey has the responsibility of protecting the paint for the Grizzlies. Last week, he embraced the role of enforcer to the delight of his All-Star teammate.

During last Saturday's game against the Utah Jazz, Ja Morant got into a verbal altercation with Keyonte George. Their teammates — Edey on Morant's side and Drew Eubanks in George's corner — then got caught up in a shoving contest. On the next possession, Eubanks went charging into Edey, but didn't seem to get his desired effect on the Grizzlies center:

After the game, Morant told reporters that Edey had approached him after he got into it with George. According to Morant, Edey asked if Eubanks was bothering him. Certainly, it's gestures like these that endear Edey to Morant and the rest of the Grizzlies locker room.