A few seasons ago, the Memphis Grizzlies were one of the best up-and-coming teams in the league, led by Ja Morant and his many talented role players. But in recent seasons, the organization has instead spent time acquiring talent through the NBA Draft.

Now, entering the 2024-25 regular season, the team is simply trying to assess the talent of its current roster and figure out where to go from here. Fortunately, there was reason for optimism.

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Grizzlies so far, but on Friday they left no doubt, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 122-99 behind Morant’s 26 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

But the high-flyer would not be the only player to delight the fans.

Memphis started two freshmen, Zach Edey at center and Jaylen Wells at forward, and still managed to pull out the win.

With Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, GG Jackson and others out of the lineup, the team took a risk starting Wells, but it quickly paid off. In 36 minutes, the Washington State star scored 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting while hitting 50% of his three-pointers and adding seven rebounds and one assist.

In just a few games, 39th-ranked Wells trails Washington lottery pick Bub Carrington by 9.5 points per game.

Edey, the team’s No. 9 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, also had a decent game, picking up 10 points and eight rebounds with a steal and a block each. The former Boilermaker hasn’t quite reached his potential as a 7-foot-4 behemoth, but has already shown improvement in recent games.

The fact that the Grizzlies can capitalize on their new additions so early is a strong sign for the future. Especially when it comes to getting a win over a team as experienced as Milwaukee.

If Memphis can get key players back from injury while continuing to develop its young core, it could climb the Western Conference faster than previously expected.

The team is currently 3-3 with a game scheduled against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, November 2nd.

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