Ja Morant

Zach Edey recorded a double-double on Friday with 15 points (7-of-9 FGs), 11 rebounds, one assist and two blocks against the Mavericks.

Edey has now played in two play-in games in his career and has two play-in double-doubles. He wasn’t able to match his 17 rebounds from Tuesday’s game, but Edey still made a big impact in this game to help Memphis return to the playoffs after a one-year absence. Edey will have his hands full for his playoff debut on Sunday as he matches up with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein while also trying to make life difficult for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander when he drives to the basket.

Desmond Bane lit up the Mavericks with 22 points (8-of-15 FGs), five rebounds, nine assists, two steals, three three-pointers and six turnovers on Friday.

After scoring 30 points in Tuesday’s loss to Golden State, Bane once again had another productive night on the offensive end. He didn’t match his point total from that game, but he didn’t need to. Bane made up for a slightly lower scoring night by matching Ja Morant as the leader in assists in this game. Bane, Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. combined to score 68 of the Grizzlies 120 points in this game. If all three are clicking for their series against the Thunder, they’ll have a chance to win some games.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 24 points (10-of-18 FGs), seven rebounds, four assists, one block and four three-pointers against the Mavericks on Friday.

JJJ had a better night offensively on Friday than he did in Tuesday’s loss to the Warriors, which helped propel Memphis back to the postseason. He was joined by Ja Morant and Desmond Bane, who each scored 22 points, as the main producers of offensive for the Grizzlies, though they had six players score in double figures. Jackson Jr. had four triples in each of their play-in games, and if he continues to knock down shots at that rate during their series against the Thunder, they’ll certainly have a chance to make some noise.

Austin Reaves tallied 16 points (5-of-13 FGs, 3-of-3 FTs), three rebounds, three assists and three three-pointers in 37 minutes in Saturday’s Game 1 loss to the Timberwolves.

Anthony Edwards (calf) shot 8-of-22 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line in Saturday’s Game 1 win over the Lakers, scoring 22 points with eight rebounds, nine assists, one steal and four three-pointers in 35 minutes.

Edwards didn’t have his best night shooting the basketball, but he recorded solid numbers in the rebound and assist categories. The lone concern was his exit from Game 1 during the third quarter with an apparent calf injury. Edwards did return early in the fourth with a sleeve on his right leg, and he said during the postgame interview that the calf is getting better “day-by-day.” The good news for him and the Timberwolves is that Game 2 isn’t until Wednesday, so he’ll have a few days to rest up.

Malik Beasley recorded 20 points (7-of-16 FGs), four rebounds, two assists, two steals, one block and six three-pointers in 35 minutes in Saturday’s Game 1 loss to the Knicks.

As was the case for most of the regular season, Beasley provided solid production off the bench in Game 1. And after shooting 14-of-25 from three in two games against the Bucks to end the regular season, he carried that form over into Saturday’s matchup. Beasley shot 6-of-12 from three in Game 1 while also providing solid value in rebounds, steals and blocks. In four regular-season meetings with the Knicks, he shot 55.6 percent from three with an average of 3.8 makes and 15.8 points. Based on those numbers and his showing on Saturday, Beasley will have value in this series. Game 2 is on Monday night.