Grizzlies Coach Makes Eye-Opening Cameron Boozer Claim After 2-of-15 Debut

Cameron Boozer made 2 of his 15 shots in his NBA debut Wednesday night. The Memphis Grizzlies outscored the Utah Jazz by 32 points while he was on the floor and won the season opener 123-103 at FedExForum.

The No. 3 overall pick finished with 7 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists. He missed all six of his 3-point attempts, went 3-of-4 at the free-throw line, and turned the ball over once.

He also played 33 minutes, more than anybody else Memphis used, and had 4 points at halftime after his first NBA points came on a dunk.

Part of his night was spent guarding Lauri Markkanen. The Utah forward made 4 of his 13 shots and 1 of his 7 3-point attempts.

"Typical Cam Boozer night, shot 2-for-15 and plus-32," Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said. "I know it's like the plus-minus for one game and without adjusting it in any way is very much a non-stat. But I thought he did a great job with the rebounding. He had 11 rebounds. He had 5 assists. His defense on Markkanen was very impressive. These are the things that I talk about with him that it's easy to forget. The kid is 19. The kid is 19, and he's making big-time plays offensively and defensively that takes other guys 10 years in the league to figure those out.

"And today going [against] one of the best forwards in the world, maybe the best off-ball mover and movement shooter out of all the forwards in Markkanen, and did a great job with him, playing two positions, playing both the four and five, handling, screening, he just does it all," Iisalo continued. "That's why it's a great performance to build on, because we want to be a team that doesn't need to make shots to win. And he is a player that epitomizes that because he doesn't need to make shots in order to help the team win. And that's how you have a robust team and robust players, because that will fluctuate, the making of the shots. The other stuff shouldn't."

Markkanen still scored 18 points. He got there by going 9-of-10 at the free-throw line, and he grabbed 9 rebounds.

Utah drafted Darryn Peterson second overall in June, one pick before Memphis took Boozer. Peterson scored 9 points in his debut.

Boozer averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in his only season at Duke, shooting 55.6% from the field and 39.1% from 3-point range. The Blue Devils went 35-3.

He was the fifth freshman voted The Associated Press men's national player of the year, and he also won the Naismith and Wooden awards.

Not having a great shooting night did not change how the game felt to him.

"For me, I always try to impact the game in other ways, but I think tonight was one of those nights where you get easy looks and it's just not falling," Boozer said. "It's one of those nights.

"And for me, I always try to impact the game in other ways, especially in games like this where the shot's not falling, just rebounding and getting stops, finding other guys, whatever it is," Boozer continued. "So overall, great team win tonight. A lot of energy in the crowd. It was a lot of fun out there."

Memphis outrebounded Utah 55-38. Fifteen of those were offensive rebounds, compared with 5 for the Jazz, and they turned into 17 second-chance points for the Grizzlies.

Jaren Jackson Jr. was the other assignment. He was back at FedExForum for the first time since the Feb. 3 trade that sent him to Utah after eight seasons in Memphis.

Jackson scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He turned the ball over 5 times and fouled out in the fourth quarter.

Boozer said he takes matchups like those personally.

"Those are two great players, and [being] able to match up with both of them in one night, I think it's a great learning experience for me, on offense and on defense," Boozer explained. "But the preseason, I matched up with a lot of guys who were really great in my position as well. So I'll just continue to get better on that side of the ball so I can keep affecting [the game] the best I can."

Utah committed 18 turnovers, and Memphis scored 17 points off them.

Zach Edey, the ninth overall pick in 2024 and a two-time AP national player of the year at Purdue, worked next to Boozer in the frontcourt. Edey had 9 rebounds and 6 points over 21 minutes.

Boozer finished with 5 assists and 1 turnover. Before the season, he said his feel for the game would carry over to the NBA.

"When two guys come to me, just find an open man," Boozer said. "Obviously there's times where you want to go and try to finish over both, especially if you're a guy who can. But for me, just making the right [read]. Sometimes it's going to be five times, sometimes it's going to be 10 times, whatever it is. But I think for me, my [feel is] something that's really separated me up to this point, and I hope it continues to."

Boozer's father, Carlos Boozer, played 13 NBA seasons and made two All-Star teams. Cameron's twin brother, Cayden, played alongside him at Duke.

The Grizzlies visit the Golden State Warriors on Friday night at Chase Center, with tip-off set for 9 p.m. CT. Memphis plays at Sacramento on Sunday and at Utah on Monday.