Zach Edey Stats Tonight: How did Grizzlies rookie perform in his return from injury against Lakers? (Dec. 15)

Zach Edey returned to the Memphis Grizzlies lineup on Sunday night against the LA Lakers. Edey missed the past 12 games due to a sprained left ankle suffered on Nov. 17 against the Denver Nuggets. How did the Grizzlies rookie perform in his first game back?

Edey finished the game with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. He also had a steal and a block, shooting 6-for-8 from the field. He played a total of 24 minutes, even closing out the game after Jaren Jackson Jr. fouled out with four minutes left in regulation.

The Grizzlies had a late rally to get close to the Lakers with three minutes remaining, but they had trouble keeping the ball. Turnovers were a nightmare for Memphis as they were unable to complete the comeback, losing to the Lakers 116-110.

Here are Zach Edey's stats for the game:

Players

PTS

REB

AST

STL

BLK

TO

PF

MIN

FG

3PT

FT

+/-

Zach Edey

13

10

1

1

1

0

4

24:20

6-8

0-0

1-1

+12

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How did Zach Edey perform against the LA Lakers?

How did Zach Edey perform against the LA Lakers? (Photo: IMAGN)

Zach Edey began the game on the bench and was likely on a minutes restriction as he gets eased back to the rotation. He entered the contest at the 2:41 mark of the first quarter, but did not register any stats. He scored the first two points of the second period, a layup to trim the LA Lakers lead to 30-22.

The Purdue product played the first three minutes of the quarter before getting subbed out. He rode the bench until he was put back in the game with around two and a half minutes remaining. He had a putback layup at the 1:00 minute mark to cut the Lakers advantage to 18 points.

In the third quarter, Zach Edey added four points to his tally and continued to play well on both ends of the floor. He gave the Memphis Grizzlies a lot of positives in a game wherein they turned the ball over 20 times and shot under 30.0% from the field.

The Grizzlies defense was nearly non-existent until the final five minutes of the fourth quarter when they made a run. They lost steam at the end, with Edey entering the game at the 4:12 mark after Jaren Jackson Jr. committed his sixth foul.

Edey was targeted by LeBron James in the last two minutes, successfully hitting a driving layup to put the game away. He was able to make the stop on the second attempt, but the Grizzlies were unable to secure the rebound.

While it was a disappointing defeat for the Grizzlies, they have a good takeaway led by Zach Edey's return. Memphis has done well without him, but there are certain matchups where Edey's presence is important in the team's success.