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Zach Edey describes the feeling before the Memphis Grizzlies' first game

SALT LAKE CITY – Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey's long-awaited official debut is here. He and the Grizzlies are on the road to open the regular season against the Utah Jazz.

Edey played in five preseason games and two summer league games, but Wednesday will be his first taste of the real deal.

“You definitely can’t sleep before a game like that,” he said. “It’ll be fine.”

Familiarity will serve Edey well. He also made his summer league debut in Salt Lake City at the Delta Center. In that game, he played against 7-foot Jazz center Walker Kessler.

Preseason and summer league basketball both differ in intensity from the regular season. The starters now begin playing longer sections. The 7-4 Edey will have to watch out for fouls as keeping him on the court will be an important part of the Grizzlies' plans this season.

“It’s obviously going to be a different type of level, but it’s still basketball,” Edey said. “It’s the sport I played.”

Edey has the trust of the Memphis locker room. Desmond Bane and Ja Morant have mentioned the need to give Edey the ball and the results so far have confirmed this.

In five preseason games, he averaged 12.2 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 52.4% from the field.

“I think he was very solid,” Bane said. “It's crazy that a rookie can come in and impact games so early in the preseason and so early in the season. We haven't had many rookies who have done that and he's only going to get better.”

ZACH EDEY'S PATH TO BASKETBALL: Zach Edey wanted to be a baseball player. Luckily for the Memphis Grizzlies, a sore arm got him into basketball.

Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at [email protected]. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.

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