Grizzlies vs. Pelicans Preview: 3 Things to Watch Without Edey, Post

The Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans both enter Friday’s Emirates NBA Cup game at Smoothie King Center 0-1 in West Group B. Tip-off is 7 p.m. CT on DAZN-MEM and ESPN 92.9 FM/680 AM in Memphis and the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network in New Orleans.

Memphis is 7-4, 5-0 on the road, and has lost four straight at home. New Orleans is 4-8 and 3-4 at home after three straight losses, the latest a 145-111 home defeat to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

The Grizzlies have six players out on the NBA injury report filed at 11 a.m. ET Friday. Zach Edey is listed with left ankle injury management, Quinten Post with concussion protocol, Scotty Pippen Jr. with a lumbar disc herniation, and Richie Saunders with right knee surgery. Karim López is on a G League assignment, and Jahmai Mashack carries a G League two-way designation. Isaiah Stewart is not on the report.

New Orleans lists Yves Missi, Trey Murphy III, Bryce McGowens, and Bennedict Mathurin as doubtful. Trendon Watford is out with a right ankle sprain, and two-way players Malik Dia and Jaron Pierre Jr. are questionable.

Post took an elbow to the face Monday in Toronto and has been in the concussion protocol since. Stewart missed that game with a right knee bone bruise, so Edey was the only center Memphis used after Post left. Taylor Hendricks got 15:41 in Toronto. He made four of his five shots and scored 9 points. His previous four appearances had averaged 4.3 minutes.

Stewart came back Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets and played 18:03. He finished with 3 points, 1 rebound, and 5 fouls.

With Edey and Post both out, Stewart’s fouls are worth watching, along with how many minutes Hendricks gets. Memphis outrebounded Denver 41-37 and had 21 second-chance points, with Cedric Coward and Cameron Boozer grabbing 11 rebounds apiece. On the other side, Missi is doubtful, and Karlo Matković started Wednesday for New Orleans.

Iisalo had Edey, Stewart, and Coward out there for the last rebounding chances Wednesday. After the game, he explained his thinking.

“We had our two best ball handlers up top to bring the ball up,” Iisalo said. “That was Ty and Booz in that situation. When you’re down, I would say better option is to take the shot earlier, so you have a chance to rebound. We also had very strong rebounders on the court, our three best rebounders with Cedric and Zach and Isaiah.”

The Grizzlies scored 26 points off 14 Raptors turnovers in Monday’s 118-102 win in Toronto. Two nights later, Denver committed 6 turnovers, and Memphis had 2 steals and 2 points off them in a 123-118 loss.

Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo pointed to that, not the final possession, as the bigger lesson from Wednesday.

“For example, we were not able to disrupt them in a way that we wanted,” Iisalo said. “They only had six total turnovers and had a very efficient half-court offense through both Jokić and Murray. And I think we can take some lessons there.”

New Orleans gave up 145 points to Brooklyn two nights after a 138-87 loss at Golden State. Whether Memphis can turn the Pelicans over the way it did the Raptors is worth watching.

The Pelicans won 135-134 in overtime at FedExForum on Nov. 2, despite 40 points from Ty Jerome. Matković scored 25 for New Orleans, Edey fouled out in overtime, and Post missed the game with a sprained right ankle.

Jerome scored 27 in Monday’s win in Toronto, when Memphis got 44 points from its bench. Afterward, he talked about the team’s intensity.

“We picked up our intensity again,” Jerome said. “We got back to our identity a little bit. I didn’t [check] the stat sheet yet, but we probably won the possession game. I don’t know. I got to see. That was big for us.”

Both teams lost their first group game Nov. 6. Oklahoma City beat Memphis 128-97 at FedExForum, and Minnesota won 115-109 in New Orleans. The loser on Friday falls to 0-2 in group play.

Both teams play again Saturday. Memphis hosts Brooklyn at 7 p.m. CT, and New Orleans hosts Denver at 6 p.m. CT.