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One of the few bright spots for the Memphis Grizzlies to start the season is rookie Cedric Coward. He’s second in 3-pointers made and third in points, rebounds and steals, but coach Tuomas Iisalo has no plans to put him in the starting lineup. Speaking to reporters after Thursday’s practice, Iisalo was asked if he has considered making Coward a starter. The coach didn’t single out the rookie, but he’s always considering every player on the roster. However, Iisalo doesn’t want to put all of his best players in the same lineup but did promise to give Coward more minutes as the season progresses. “A lot of times it doesn’t make sense to have, for example, all of your best on-ball creators in the same lineup. I think he’s done an unbelievable job for us as a rookie, especially the poise he’s played with coming off the bench, the productivity. Every time he’s stepped off the court, he’s given us a spark on the court, and we feel like that has suited him very well up to this point. His minutes have been steadily going up because of his overall impact. I think that’s the more important thing than like who is starting and who is not, just how those minutes are allocated,” Iisalo said, via Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Coward is averaging 14.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals in the first nine games of the season. He’s shooting 53.7% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc. Coward Feels Blessed Playing in the NBA The Portland Trail Blazers picked Cedric Coward 11th overall before sending him to the Memphis Grizzlies in a draft day trade for No. 16 pick Yang Hansen and a future first-rounder. Coward’s story is a rare one since he started his collegiate career at Division III program Willamette. Coward then transferred to Eastern Washington in his sophomore season, spending two seasons there. He entered the transfer portal again and joined Washington State for his senior year. In an interview with Andscape’s Marc J. Spears, Coward just feels blessed to be in the NBA after going through everything in college. “I’m super blessed to be in the position that I’m in. Not a lot of people get to experience this. It’s like 450 of us (NBA players) in this whole thing. I’m one of them, which is great. So, I never take a day for granted. I always take each day and make it count as much as possible. But there are times where I’ve got to pinch myself and be like, ‘Damn, I’m really here,’” Coward said. Coward hasn’t disappointed the Grizzlies with their decision to draft up for him. However, the franchise is currently in disarray with the situation between Ja Morant and the coaching staff. Coward Ranks 2nd in Latest NBA Rookie Rankings After his hot start to the season off the bench, Cedric Coward remains second in the latest rookie power rankings by NBA.com. He’s just behind fellow impressive rookie guard VJ Edgecombe, who has taken the Philadelphia 76ers by storm.
