Cedric

Coward

Coward didn’t have his most effective shooting performance in the first game of his second summer league, but that clearly wasn’t an issue during his rookie season. He was able to make an impact on the glass and defensively, while he shot 3-of-9 beyond the arc, he was 0-of-4 on two-point attempts. Coward shot 72.9 percent in the restricted area last season and 47 percent on two-pointers, so this shouldn’t be a lingering issue for him. He may not see many more appearances this summer.

Flagg, Knueppel, and Edgecombe all received 100 first-place votes, with Harper’s 93 votes not far behind. Cedric Coward’s 29 first-place votes were the least of the first-teamers. Meanwhile, Derik Queen, Maxime Raynaud, Jeremiah Fears, Ace Bailey, and Colin Murray-Boyles were named to the All-Rookie Second team.

Coward joins the long list of Grizzlies players who won’t be available for Friday’s game. Adama Bal and Dariq Whitehead should play plenty due to the injuries, with the former logging 39 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to the Nuggets.

Coward needed only 22 minutes of game action to finish as the game’s leading scorer. He was dialed in from beyond the arc, took advantage of his free-throw attempts, and made the most of his scoring inside the arc. As a result, the rookie logged his seventh 20-point game of the season. He’ll have a chance to land another big performance on Friday against the Jazz.

Coward did not play in Sunday’s loss to the Bucks, resulting in Toby Okani making his first career start. Okani played 41 minutes in Milwaukee; he’s highly unlikely to hit that number with Coward back in the lineup.

Coward was initially doubtful for Sunday’s game, so his absence is unsurprising. Adama Bal and Lucas Williamson are likely to see their minutes increase, but neither is worth the streaming risk.

Coward and Jackson, with the latter having scored 30 points in Friday’s loss to the Raptors, are on track to sit out Sunday’s game due to injury. Memphis has been extremely shorthanded for most of this season. The good news is that Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Taylor Hendricks are available, and both will be key options on Sunday.

Coward’s final line didn’t pop, but he was still one of the Grizzlies’ top performers on the evening. He finished as the team’s second-leading scorer, collected a few stocks, and made a pair of three-pointers, albeit on inefficient shooting. The rookie forward hasn’t had many big performances lately; he’s mostly just provided value as a scorer down the stretch of the season.

Spencer joins the opening unit for the Grizzlies on Monday, replacing the injured Javon Small (back). Mashack’s inclusion in the starting five also comes by way of injury — he’ll start on the wing in place of the injured Olivier-Maxence Prosper (shoulder). While the Grizzlies are out of playoff contention, they still offer some intriguing fantasy options, namely Cedric Coward and GG Jackson.

The biggest beneficiaries with Jerome and Wells out have been Javon Small and Cedric Coward, with the latter enjoying one of his best games of the season in Saturday’s win over the Bulls. With Small considered doubtful with a back injury, a lot of the Grizzlies’ offense will run through Coward and Cam Spencer.