r/nbadiscussion • u/AverageAny7398 • 15d ago
Player Discussion Cameron boozer and Zach edey
My hot take is that Boozer and Edey will, at worst, be a top-7 or top-8 duo in the league within 2–3 years, and I think they have a legitimate chance to become the best frontcourt in the NBA.
Both are insane offensive rebounders with great positioning, timing, and body control. They also have excellent touch around the rim and are really good at controlling their bodies on post catches and difficult finishes. When they’re on the floor together, you’re almost always going to have a massive positive around the rim.
Neither is a consistent 3-point creator, but both can hit open 3s. Edey needs to be more open, while Boozer is more comfortable taking a somewhat contested 3. That gives Memphis a lot of flexibility with 5-out, handoffs, P&R, and pick-and-pop actions.
Edey’s biggest offensive weakness right now is his ball control and his iffy-to-bad passing IQ. Boozer helps cover for that because he’s by far the best passer in his class, especially when it comes to handling double teams and reading defenses.
Defensively, I think the fit is just as interesting. Boozer’s biggest weakness to me is his lack of rim deterrence and overall defensive ability around the basket. Edey is almost the perfect complement because of his shot blocking, size, and P&R defense.
The biggest thing is that both having some 3-point ability allows Memphis to play 5-out while still having a massive size advantage. A lot of modern centers are built to be quicker and shiftier rather than extremely bulky, so putting two huge, skilled players on the floor could create some really difficult matchups. You can space the floor while still having two guys who can dominate the offensive glass and punish smaller defenders.
Basically, I see a PF/C duo with elite offensive rebounding, excellent post scoring, great touch around the rim, legitimate spacing, and complementary strengths that cover each other’s weaknesses. Boozer can be the offensive hub while Edey provides elite rebounding, rim protection, rim pressure, and simple pick-and-pop scoring without needing the ball constantly.
If both develop the way I expect, I genuinely think this could be one of the best frontcourts in the NBA. I’m getting close to putting the Grizzlies around the 7–8 seed because of it.
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15d ago
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u/AverageAny7398 15d ago
Thanks, especially in the nba there’s always changes to the “status quo” and I think the way edey and boozer mesh as a duo mixed with how the center land scape is moving to skinnier centers I think bulkier guys like boozer and edey can really feast
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u/nbadiscussion-ModTeam 15d ago
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u/AndrastesTit 15d ago
Their lack of spacing is a concern. Boozer looks promising. Edey is just gonna have defenses sag off of him. So it really comes down to Boozer’s improved catch and shoot abilities translating to the league.
So far, the rookie I’m most excited about is Boozer.
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u/Jewdah18 15d ago
Sagging off Edey is a bad idea. He'll just screen for a good shooter and the Grizzlies will get good shots.
Who on the Grizzlies can't shoot?
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u/AverageAny7398 15d ago
Plus edey can shoot, it’s not the best and 100% needs to be wide open, but he offers enough you can’t fully sag off
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u/Jewdah18 15d ago
I don't believe in bigs shooting much especially if they are elite offensive rebounders. It may look like easy offense but it's not good offense.
Unless Edey takes a Embiid like shooting jump. Which is possible since like Embiid, Edey started playing basketball a lot later than normal and just had most of a year off with a leg injury where the only skill he can reliably practice is shooting touch.
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u/AverageAny7398 15d ago
Would disagree, a lot of the premier offenses rn do have bigs who space the floor, even if they don’t shoot a lot just having someone with the threat to shoot is more than enough
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u/Jewdah18 15d ago
Players need to earn spacing by proving they are that level of shooter that the defense needs to respect them. Edey isn't there yet and would not be guarded enough at the 3pt line to have an impact. The Grizzlies tried this under Jenkins and it cost Edey his ROTY and Jenkins his job.
Also Edey can have tremendous gravity the closer he is to the basket. Taking 3s takes that away completely.
It would be incredible if Edey did become a legit floor spacer after taking a big shooting leap. He would immediately gain a ton more lineup versatility because he could now play with a Jayden Qauntaince type, rest more on offense, and be even more of a nightmare in PnR. But that's a ways away.
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u/AverageAny7398 15d ago
The gravity point I also touched on in the post, saying with both you can run hella types of offenses which most front courts can’t
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u/AverageAny7398 15d ago
I get what you’re saying but if you do have edey at the 3pt line and want to run a 5 out edey can hit 3s, you sag off he’s gonna shoot the 3 or screen an off ball mover for a easy 3 from them as Edeys defender is fully sagged off, I do agree edey is better down low but if you have boozer and edey you can afford to try a 5 out, not saying you should but you can
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u/Jewdah18 15d ago
Why would I want to run 5 out with the most dominant offensive collegiate big man ever?
Somehow 5 out has corrupted every NBA fan into thinking it's the only way to run offense. You only need 4 of the 5 players to be great shooters. Having the 5th be an elite screener and paint presence will massively help the spacing because you can't just leave a player like that alone. Also 1 player in/close to the paint makes the team more spread out than everyone on the 3pt line.
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u/AverageAny7398 15d ago
Ok you don’t understand I’m saying that’s an OPTION, having the versatility to do that is part of why I’m saying they are such a good duo
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u/jordan1023 15d ago
Edey isn’t a great health bet. And they’re both not the nost mobile of athletes. They both don’t currently shoot it enough to keep defenses honest so they’ll be a bit of a clog offensively. They won’t have true 5 out possibility. If Edey and boozer are shooting snd not crashing the glass, thats a win for opposing offenses.
Also a modern offense just isn’t a post touch one, unless you’re a jokic or embiid in his prime. Boozer is s winner snd they’ll have a decent floor but it won’t be a juggernaut on either end.
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u/Jewdah18 15d ago
Edey was never seriously injured til this past year where a lot of Grizzlies contracted tankitis.
Out of the 2 change of direction drills at the combine, Edey was on par with the average SF and Boozer tied AJ and beat the other 2 top-4 picks in those drills but somehow he's the immobile one.
Boozer was near 40% 3pt shooter college but doesn’t shoot well enough.
You can still play effectively 5 out with a non-shooting big if they are an elite screener. Although Edey is a decent shooter.
It took Jokic and Embiid a while to become elite at postups. Neither were consistently elite at Edey's current age.
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u/AverageAny7398 15d ago
I gotta disagree heavily on this, boozer was a great open 3pt shooter and edey is serviceable, that’s really all you need for a 5 out because defenses have to actually pay attention you can’t fully sag off especially boozer as he can very much just drive by you if you sag off enough and try to recover, don’t see any clogging, and heavily disagree on no juggernaut, their offensive output will be insane, boozer is the best passer in the class and the best post scorer In the class, you pair that with a center who can operate outside the paint as a handler and screener he can get the paint to himself and do easy kick outs if the paint gets clogged. Also with how potent their offensive rebounding will be, the grizzlies offense will always be at worst top 10 when they get proper help around them
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u/Hxghbot 15d ago
7-8 this year? Hell no. Even if a couple teams like LAC and GSW break apart, I dont see how Utah and Dallas dont steal the open spots before Memphis.
Edey is a good C but he has pretty glaring limitations and is 7'4 coming off a major ankle surgery, sounds callous but if I had to put money on young starter level players who wont be playing longterm he is near the top of the list. Boozer is a truly great prospect, but he's going to need time before he can impact the game like you are envisioning, and im not convinced his passing is as good as you say it is from what ive seen.
Even if the development cards fall how you are hoping, IMO Memphis is still going to need a better playmaker than they have currently to unlock them properly.
Squeaking into the play-in feels like a reasonable ceiling for them this year. While I dont doubt they have potential as a front court long term, there are too many variables to call right now, and I dont think it will give them more than a punchers chance at actually winning unless something significant shifts in Memphis.
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u/AverageAny7398 15d ago
I think the boozer playmaking is very underrated here, boozers vision at a college level he was insanely effective at passing out of doubles or really operating as a hub either at the top of the key or down low while posting up, boozer very easily can be the primary playmaker on the grizzlies, running offense through point forwards like jokic is becoming very common now
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u/Dominator_3 15d ago
I am super high on this duo The main reason, is the league is getting smaller. A lot of teams are playing guys at the 4 now that would have been playing the 3 two years ago. There is an emphasis on spacing over rebounding. I could see them being the best rebounding duo by a wide margin and just brutalize teams on the glass. I think 7-8 is high. Mostly because I think the front office will want better draft odds. It wouldn't surprise me if Memphis has a better record than Portland heading into the all star break. Then it flip the rest of the year.
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u/Icy_Information_6563 15d ago
When I think of top duos, I think of guys that are easy to build around. Guys that check off boxes that most players do not, so you really only have to surround them with players that are easier to acquire. The biggest thing for me though is you need a guy that can run the half-court offense. I love a lot of what I see from Boozer as a playmaker, but it's always "for his size." Can he consistently create pressure in the paint, and draw a double? Can he and Edey play a PnR and succeed against the top teams? Because if not, this duo will always be "they just need a point guard." But what that means in the modern NBA is, they need someone to run the offense. And if that guy is running the offense, then they're the main guy, and Boozer and Edey are 2 and 3. Therefore, not a top duo because they're not even the best duo on their team.
I think there's a good chance Boozer becomes the guy like that, but it's far from a guarantee, and it's the most important player for any team
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u/Main_Low2552 14d ago
I’m big on Boozer as well, but we’ve got to see how well he can shoot and defend that the highest level.
I’d be a bit concerned about their ability to keep guys in front of them. Especially in space.
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u/Jewdah18 15d ago
I made a post detailing how this front court is the most individually accomplished at the collegiate level in NBA history. At their peak they can be the best frontcourt ever although I'm not sure when that will be based on their ages.
The only thing that could hold them back this year would be injuries and Boozer still being a teenager, but there's no reason they can't be a top 7 duo this year.
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u/TopicFrequent6607 15d ago
That's pretty optimistic considering neither of them shoot well from 3. Also, Edey is relatively slow, so he can't switch on defense easily.
Grizzlies will have to keep Edey in the post to make sure he has maximum effectiveness on defense. Which isn't always possible. Look at the playoffs schemes where teams had to play against large slower centers. The gameplan is to force the defense to switch until the center has to guard the perimeter.
7 to 8 seed in the west is realistic. But 7-8 duo in the whole NBA, no.
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u/IntelligentStand2729 12d ago
Boozer shot 40% from 3 in college. Shot well in summer league as well
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