Tuomas Iisalo Details Cedric Coward, Zach Edey Roles With New-Look Grizzlies

Cedric Coward opened the second half Friday night with a pull-up jumper off a Cameron Boozer pass. With 3:44 left in the third quarter, Zach Edey caught an alley-oop from Ty Jerome.

Both started for the Memphis Grizzlies in a 117-98 preseason win over the Charlotte Hornets at FedExForum, alongside Jerome, Boozer, and Kris Murray.

Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said Coward is a very good handler for his position.

"I think overall, Cedric's not in an easy spot playing in that," Iisalo said. "We know that the ball is a lot in Ty's hands with that first unit. And a lot of times the connector in those situations is then Booz, who we go to a lot also with ATOs and different type of stuff."

"And then Zach — we also want to get him more involved, as others need to adjust playing with him," Iisalo continued. "On him, I can say that the others are doing a much better job passing the ball into areas where only he has access. And also Zach's been really, really good with his discipline and looking to get deep catches. And if he doesn't have that, he's going to kick it out, make the next play, or turn it into an offensive rebound. So I think he's making really good progress there and has kind of realized where his strengths are, and the other players too."

Boozer had 3 assists Friday. One was the pass for an Edey hook shot 2:40 into the third quarter, and Boozer said afterward that Edey is a big target who works hard on the glass.

Edey also opened the second quarter with a tip dunk. He blocked a Naz Reid floater early in that quarter, and his pass set up a Jerome 3 with 29 seconds left in the half.

It was his third preseason game. He sat out the Oct. 5 opener in Atlanta, played 10 minutes against Orlando on Oct. 7, and played 16 in Chicago on Oct. 9.

Injuries held the 7-foot-3 center to 11 games in 2025-26. In those games, he averaged 13.6 points and 11.1 rebounds and shot 63% from the field.

Memphis took Edey ninth overall out of Purdue in 2024. He made the All-Rookie First Team in 2025, and through two seasons he has played 77 games.

He said Friday that it takes time for teammates to get used to playing with him.

Coward went 5-of-8 from the field for 13 points. It was his first double-figure game of the preseason, and he added 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in 26 minutes. All 4 of the assists turned into 3-pointers.

Charlotte acquired Dennis Schröder from Cleveland on Aug. 14 for Tre Mann, making the Hornets his 12th NBA team.

Iisalo said Coward's short mid-range game will matter more the tougher the defense gets.

"And what I was saying about Ced is he a lot of times is then like an additional option in those units," Iisalo explained. "And I thought in the first half he could have been a little bit more aggressive in a few situations, especially in what we call the second-side situations, because they were, especially with the point guards, they were trying to deny. Schröder was trying to deny Jerome from getting the ball back on the third side, so there's more space for him to attack."

"But he settled in really well into these games, and his shot looks really good right now," Iisalo continued. "He's getting into his mid-range, and we know that he has that type of shot-making ability that the tougher the opponent defensively, those shots are going to be very valuable for him, to get into that short mid-range and create space for himself and finish, while at the same time finishing in transition, which he has been doing throughout the preseason in practice and also in the games. And I overall think that those units are playing very balanced basketball."

Coward started the Oct. 5 opener and had 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in 18 minutes. Consistency on both ends was his summer focus, he said at media day on Sept. 28.

As a rookie, Coward started 47 of his 62 games and averaged 13.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. Memphis drafted him 11th overall in 2025, and he made the All-Rookie First Team.

The Grizzlies have until Oct. 31 to pick up the 2027-28 team option on his rookie-scale contract.

Memphis opens the regular season against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. CT at FedExForum.