It was only Brooklyn, but getting 25-12-4 puts you on the court and in any conversation. And he did that shooting 92%. That's a difference maker who doesn't impact the stars he is playing with. He's eating without the ball right now.
Of the top 10 heavy, Only Yao and Muresan went out due to injuries early in their careers. 1. Oliver Miller - 375 - Played 18 years total. Mostly on the bench. Ate his way out of the league, but played international for long time. 2. Shaq - 356 - Played 19 years, the last 5 with injuries, but mostly injury free for the first 3/4. 3. Eddie Curry - 350 - 11 years, mostly injury free until the last 2 years. Retired because of knee, and he was too fat and slow. 4. Michael Sweetney - 348 - 5 years - Retired as a flop, Suffered from Depression. 5. Kevin Duckworth - 319 - 12 Years - Had one major injury in year 2, but recovered for a nice career. Did Retire due to injury. 6. Robert Traylor - 312- 7 years - Flopped out, but no major injuries 7. Yao Ming - 311 - 8 years - Riddled with injuries 8. Mengke Bateer - 310 - 3 years - NBA was just to advanced for him. Benched. 9. Dexter Pittman - 306 - 4 years - Basically just too fat. Only on the bench 10. Gheorjhe Muresan - 302 - 6 years - Injuries derailed his career.
I’d keep a close eye on his plus/minus. Currently ranked 11th on the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are much better with Edey and Huff OFF the floor. Donovan Clingan is 4th on his team in plus/minus. Actually a +1 right now, which is pretty remarkable. Alperen smokes them both.
And three years younger than Zach Edey is now, without Ja Morant, JJJ, and Desmond Bane. Let Alperen go to college until he is 22 and see what happens...
4 points, 3 rebs, 5 fouls over 17 minutes of play so far. Edey is going to be a good player, but I still think Reed will have the better career.
I said it in another thread, but there are always people who overrate older prospects like Edey and Knecht who hit the ground running, but whose progress also grinds to a halt as the season progresses. Jaquez for the Heat last season is another good example.
I still am befuddled how some idiot fans expect our 19-21 year players to play as if they are in their physical prime their rookie year...