The Jazz are healthy again.
Four weeks to the date in which Ed Davis fractured his left fibula on Nov. 1, he was moved to the active list and made available to play on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
He figures to shore up a backup big-man rotation that has relied heavily on 21-year-old Tony Bradley and natural forward Jeff Green in recent weeks.
“Ed brings us consistency of competitiveness, rebounding and selfishness,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “More than anything, he’s going to do whatever the team needs to do to win.”
Snyder said Davis has stayed connected with the team during his injury; and he has been traveling with the group in recent weeks as he performs the rehab process.
“He’s been engaged, sometimes in a personal, quiet way, where he grabs someone and says something. Sometimes he’s more demonstrative,” Snyder said. “I think he’s kept himself mentally ready as he’s gotten physically healthy.”
Davis didn’t score in his 12 minutes on-court Friday, but added five rebounds and generally impressed with his defensive effort.
Grayson Allen getting back in Memphis rotation
After suffering from left ankle soreness early in the season, second-year guard Grayson Allen missed 10 games early in the season as he fought for a rotation spot for the Memphis Grizzlies. This week, he’s returned to action, playing 18 minutes in the Grizzlies’ 2-point loss to the Clippers on Wednesday night.
In the seven games that he has played, though, he hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. He’s averaging six points, two rebounds and two assists per game in an average of 16 minutes per contest. More troubling are his shooting numbers: Allen is shooting just 30.4% from the floor and 22.7% from three. It’s a small sample size, but the Grizzlies have been much worse when he’s on the court as well.
Still, Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins says that the team believes in the 24-year-old Allen in the long term.
“Continuing to embrace the defensive side of the ball is big for him,” Jenkins said. “Offensively, it’s about knowing that he’s a downhill player, being able to use that physicality, being able to get into the paint and score for us, and then continuing to trust his shot. Obviously, he shot the ball well in college. It’s taken some time for him to get into a groove here, but hopefully over time he’ll be able to knock down that three ball consistently.”
It didn’t come on Friday, however. Allen shot just 1 for 7 from the field, adding only four points in 12:34 for the Grizzlies off the bench.
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