Previewing Sixers-Grizzlies with Drew Hill

Looking to get back in the win column, the 1-3 Sixers are set to play host to a Memphis Grizzlies team that has often participated in thrilling contests during their annual trips to Philadelphia.

To preview Saturday night’s action, let’s chat with Drew Hill, who covers the Grizzlies for The Daily Memphian.

MORE: Sixers say Embiid and George remain out, but getting closer

Adam Aaronson: The 2024 NBA Draft class was an unusual one, but perhaps no player is drawing more attention than Grizzlies rookie center Zach Edey. What drew the Grizzlies to select Edey at No. 9 overall, how do they envision him contributing to winning in his first season and what has he shown so far during the young season?

Drew Hill: The biggest weakness for the Grizzlies in the Ja Morant era has been their half-court offense. During Memphis’ best scoring seasons with the star, the frontcourt has counterbalanced those inefficiencies by generating more possessions than the opponent.

Steven Adams was the best offensive rebounder in the game while playing beside Morant, but ultimately had too many injury concerns and too high of a price tag. It’s why the franchise shipped him out to Houston prior to last season’s trade deadline. Edey, an experienced college player, fit the profile as an NBA-ready body that could instantly fill a similar role as Adams. The Grizzlies needed an enforcer. They thought they found one in a 7-foot-4 former hockey player from Toronto.

So far, the returns on the pick have been inconsistent.

Edey has started every game for the Grizzlies but he hasn’t been featured in the closing lineup. He’s struggled with foul trouble as learns to guard better athletes with more space to operate.

AA: It’s never too early to think about trade deadline scenarios, and some have identified Grizzlies stretch big Santi Aldama as a potential target for the Sixers. What are Aldama’s key strengths and weaknesses, and do you think there is a world in which the Grizzlies consider moving him before he becomes a restricted free agent this summer?

The Grizzlies didn’t reach an extension with him this summer, but they still clearly hold him in high regard. Aldama is a pass-dribble-shoot forward that has great chemistry with Morant. Will they trade him? I don’t know, it probably depends on how expensive he eventually becomes. The Grizzlies avoided the tax this season, and they also have three huge contracts in play between Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane.

AA: Sixers fans know Marcus Smart far too well, and many were delighted when the Boston Celtics traded the former Defensive Player of the Year to Memphis before last season, but Smart only appeared in 20 games in his first season with the Grizzlies due to injuries. Smart will be sidelined in this game to another injury, but the hope is that he will not miss much time. What do the Grizzlies expect to get out of Smart in what should be his first full season with the team?

DH: The Grizzlies brought in Marcus Smart to be a locker room leader and fill a hole as a perimeter stopper. The Dillon Brooks experience had become exhausting.

What Memphis didn’t know, however, was that wing Vince Williams Jr. was going to emerge from a season otherwise lost due to injuries in 2023-24. Casual NBA fans may not be familiar with Williams just yet, but that will likely change. He’s a nuisance who models his game after Patrick Beverley.

Williams – nicknamed “the bug” by some in Memphis – quickly earned a reputation as a disruptor on the ball. Stars like Luka Dončić and Kevin Durant have already acknowledged Williams’ defensive talent.

That meant the Grizzlies were not supposed to have just one player (Smart) who could take on the challenge of defending elite guards. They actually thought they had two. Against the Sixers, they will have neither. Both players are already down with injuries in the first week of the season.

MORE: Embiid breaks silence: ‘should be back pretty soon’