Memphis Grizzlies Suffer Lopsided Loss While Leaning on Rookie

The NBA Playoffs typically aren’t a place for rookies. Few are able to even sniff the rotation much less make an impact. 

For the Memphis Grizzlies, the expectation was to lean on a pair of rookies in the postseason before Jaylen Wells went out with a season-ending injury at the end of the regular season. 

Zach Edey was the lone rookie left standing on a season that quickly went off the rails for the Grizzlies. The once No. 2 seed out West, tumbled to the No. 8 seed and fired its coach in the final month of the season. 

After surviving the NBA Play-In tournament, the reward for the Beale Street Ballers was a date with the No. 1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. 

OKC was a historically great regular season team and are a popular pick to win the Western Conference. They got their quest for a championship started on the right foot with a lopsided 131-80 win over Memphis. 

The final score is messy and discouraging, but after the first quarter it was still a ball game with the Grizzlies down just a dozen and superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench to start the second quarter. 

The Thunder’s 30-5 run buried the Grizzlies in Game 1 with Memphis hamstrung by a quick turnaround and injuries. 

Edey was a non-factor in this game, harassed by the Thunder’s double-big lineup of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. 

The Purdue Rookie played just 19 minutes en route to four points on five shots, nine rebounds, an assist and pair of turnovers. 

This forgettable playoff debut shouldn’t force Memphis to abandon their rookie big man, despite how well Marvin Bagley played. 

The Grizzlies admitted pregame they “have nothing to lose” as massive underdogs in this series. 

The experience they can give to Edey in this series that isn’t primed for an upset is more valuable than any other possible outcome in Round 1. Even if it involves a few clunkers.