Zach Edey Stats Tonight: How did Grizzlies rookie big man perform against Lakers (March 29)

The Memphis Grizzlies' frontcourt depth took a hit when Brandon Clarke was ruled out for the season, putting pressure on rookie big man Zach Edey. The Grizzlies are in a tight race for positioning in the Western Conference, with Saturday's game against the LA Lakers pivotal.

Edey is having a solid first season with the Grizzlies, justifying the franchise's decision to draft him ninth last year. He's averaging 9.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in just 20 minutes per game. He's also shooting 57.1% from the field.

The Grizzlies also named Tuomas Iisalo as their interim coach after firing Taylor Jenkins. Iisalo's first starting lineup featured Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Jaylen Wells, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Zach Edey. So how did the Canadian center perform against the Lakers?

Here are Zach Edey's stats for the game:

Players

PTS

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

MIN

FG

3PT

FT

+/-

Zach Edey

14

11

2

1

3

1

4

26:30

7-10

0-0

0-2

+3

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Zach Edey tallies double-double in loss to the Lakers

Zach Edey had a slow start to the game, finishing with just two points in the first quarter. He barely had an impact as the Memphis Grizzlies were down 39-28 after the first 12 minutes.

In the second quarter, Edey had a better stint on the court. He produced eight points against the undersized LA Lakers team, but the Grizzlies were still down by 11 at halftime.

Edey added two points in the third quarter, with the hosts making a comeback and being only down 102-99 entering the final period. The Purdue product scored just two points in the fourth quarter but completed his double-double performance plus three blocks.

However, the Grizzlies ran out of steam despite taking the lead four minutes into the final period. The Lakers finished things off with under two minutes remaining, with Austin Reaves scoring seven of the Lakers' final 12 points of the game.

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What's next for the Memphis Grizzlies?

The Memphis Grizzlies are now a full game behind the LA Lakers for the No. 4 seed in the West. The Grizzlies' struggles against teams with winning records continued, but they don't have Taylor Jenkins to put their blame on now that they've fired him.

With their talented roster, the Grizzlies still have a chance to make it into the top 4, but it's going to be hard with eight games left. Out of those eight games, only the Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets and Dallas Mavericks have a losing record.

If the Grizzlies fail to gain some momentum and earn wins, they could fall outside the top 6 and into the play-in tournament spots. The Golden State Warriors and LA Clippers are 1.5 games behind, while the Minnesota Timberwolves are two games shy of Memphis.