Memphis Grizzlies breakout rookie Cedric Coward joins The Kevin O’Connor Show to discuss his rookie season, the toughest NBA players to defend and more.
Check out the full conversation on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
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Video Transcript
Who’s the hardest guy that you’ve had to defend?
I mean, Shai and Luka are always tough to defend.
Like, you can know what’s coming, and at the same time, it’s like, still you can’t stop it.
Ant Edwards was really tough because he’s super explosive.
So it’s like, with, with the Shai and Luka, they’re so methodical in what they’re gonna do, like, they can hit you with so many different moves, but they don’t have, like, as quick as explosive step as Ant does.
Ant will hit you with a whole bunch of different moves and then come down the next time, and you’re expecting him to hit you with the same whole bunch of different moves, but just do a tween and go.
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And you’re like, “Oh, damn!”
Like, and his first step is so fast that it’s, like, super hard to get back in front.
And obviously he can jump out the gym, so, you know, I feel bad for the big man.
You know, I’m putting him on an island there.
But at the same time, there, there’s so many different guys.
I mean, Saddiq Bey is one that’s, like, very underrated, uh- Saddiq Bey- … probably in the league.
Yeah, Saddiq- It’s not the name I would’ve anticipated.
Saddiq Bey is he’s a bucket.
Like, he’s super strong, knows how to use his body, gets to his spots, and every time he’s played us, he, he’s had a really, really good game.
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So just making sure, you know, there’s And there’s so many others, like, but those are probably the toughest so far.
I mean, you defended Kawhi for 41 possessions, LeBron for 40, KD for 35, Steph for 25, SGA for 22.
Those are some of the, your most common match-ups you had this year on the defensive end of the floor.
You’ve defended some of the, the biggest names in NBA history- … former MVPs, champions.
it feels like the Grizzlies have really put you out there defending different types of players, different shapes and sizes of players, different styles.