Herrington: Zach Edey transformed the Grizzlies defense, but without a healthy point guard will it matter?
Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey, top, played his first game of the season Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Chris Herrington
Chris Herrington has covered the Memphis Grizzlies, in one way or another, since the franchise’s second season in Memphis, while also writing about music, movies, food and civic life. As far as he knows, he’s the only member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association who is also a member of a film critics group and has also voted in national music critic polls for Rolling Stone and the Village Voice (RIP). He and his wife have two kids and, for reasons that sometimes elude him, three dogs.
It was a good five minutes.
In the 14th game of the season, in Cleveland, the Memphis Grizzlies debuted what currently seems to be their optimal lineup: Ja Morant-Jaylen Wells-Cedric Coward-Jaren Jackson Jr.-Zach Edey.
Edey’s return from injury made it possible, with the elevation of rookie Coward more purely elective, and it looked different right out of the gate
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