Cameron Boozer Sees Growing Connection With Zach Edey After Grizzlies Win

Cameron Boozer found 7-foot-3 center Zach Edey for a hook shot 2:40 into the third quarter Friday night, one of his 3 assists in the Memphis Grizzlies' 117-98 preseason win over the Charlotte Hornets at FedExForum.

Boozer expects that connection to grow the more he and Edey play together, he said in a video Grind City Media posted after the game.

"Just reading the low man," Boozer said. "I think as we keep playing more and more, we're going to keep building that connection."

"But he's a big target," Boozer continued. "I find ways to get him going. And it's an easy basket [for] him. So he does a great job. He works super hard. Crashed the whole board. So just feeding him, getting a couple easy buckets."

Boozer scored Memphis' first points on two free throws 73 seconds into the game. His dunk off a Ty Jerome pass a minute later gave the Grizzlies their first lead, 4-2.

His other assists set up a Scotty Pippen Jr. 3-pointer late in the first quarter and a Cedric Coward pull-up jumper to open the second half. Boozer also hit a pull-up 3-pointer off a Jaylen Wells pass early in the fourth.

His 19 points and 7 rebounds led the team. In 29 minutes, he was 4-of-13 from the field, 2-of-5 on 3-pointers, and 9-of-10 at the line.

Getting into the paint is the priority for Boozer when he sees an opening.

"Just reading who's guarding you, what advantage do you have," Boozer explained. "It's always an advantage game, always trying to attack one of the weaker defenders or just if you can get in the paint, you're going to mismatch, it cancels out any play."

"So just kind of finding your moments to attack and be aggressive and making the right read, whether it's a finish or a shot or you're finding someone else," Boozer continued.

Memphis drafted Boozer third overall in June out of Duke. He told 92.9 FM ESPN's Gabe Kuhn he dropped eight pounds over the offseason.

He opened the preseason Oct. 5 in Atlanta with 11 points in 18 minutes, adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Against Orlando two nights later, he had 16 points and 6 rebounds and went 6-of-7 at the line. He added 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists Oct. 9 in Chicago.

Across four preseason games, he scored 56 points and went 20-of-24 on free throws.

Memphis finished the preseason 3-1. Charlotte committed 24 turnovers, and the Grizzlies had 14 steals.

Hannes Steinbach, a June draft pick, posted 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets as a reserve. Naz Reid, the Hornets forward Boozer drew an offensive foul on in the second quarter, finished with 12 points.

Boozer spent the preseason guarding forwards between 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-10 who handle the ball like guards.

He believes Memphis' defense can create opportunities for an offense built to play in transition.

"It's a lot of fun when everyone's guarding together and we're getting stops, [getting] steals, [blocking] shots, forcing [them] to turn the ball over," Boozer said. "It's a lot of fun. It's a fun way to play basketball. And [it lets us] get [out in] transition, where I think we've been great, so it's amazing when we're all guarding like that."

In NBA.com's annual GM survey, 50% of general managers picked Boozer for Rookie of the Year.

The league named him to the All-Summer League First Team in July after his Summer League debut July 4 in Salt Lake City, where he scored 15 points.

His first regular-season game is against the Utah Jazz, the team his father, Carlos Boozer, once played for.

Memphis hosts Utah at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Oct. 21.