Speaker 1: On this Thanksgiving appetizer episode of the Heat Check, it's
Speaker 1: time for the Rookie Report. You're weekly checking on the
Speaker 1: rookies from around the league and how they're doing. This week,
Speaker 1: we talked about the big surprise in the rookie class
Speaker 1: so far this season. Who is? I got a lot
Speaker 1: of casual fans probably don't even know his name is
Speaker 1: Jalen Wells? Who hu, Anthony my man? Drop that motherfucking
Speaker 1: beat that should be? Young man. Has it been a
Speaker 1: high day since we done a second round rash pick?
Speaker 1: I feel like it's been at least a year, But
Speaker 1: we haven't had a lot that have lit up the
Speaker 1: league either, And that is exactly what's happening with Jalen
Speaker 1: Wells out of the Memphis Grizzlies. I forgive you if
Speaker 1: you've not heard of him before. This is giving me
Speaker 1: shades of Gigi Jackson right like. It's giving me like
Speaker 1: Memphis finds a kid that no one else really was
Speaker 1: believing in. He's six 's eight. He's forward out of
Speaker 1: Sacramento by way of Washington State. He spent a couple
Speaker 1: of years in D two before his one season as
Speaker 1: a Cougar, and even though he's like. Averaging thirteen to
Speaker 1: five and one wasn't world beating, it was enough that
Speaker 1: he decided to declare for the draft. What did scouts
Speaker 1: love about him? Well, he was a true catch and
Speaker 1: shoot forward, which combined with his quick release, meant that
Speaker 1: they were confident that he could get his shot off
Speaker 1: in the pros and no baby, he has that and
Speaker 1: the fact that he was a very good on ball
Speaker 1: defender was enough for the Memphis Grizzlies to take a
Speaker 1: flyer on him at thirty nine. And let's just say,
Speaker 1: considering that they've had some injuries, that draft pick has
Speaker 1: worked out. He has fit in seamlessly to the lineup,
Speaker 1: so much so that he has forced Marcus Smart to
Speaker 1: the bench and moved into the starting lineup in the
Speaker 1: sixth game of the season. Has not looked back. He's
Speaker 1: averaging fourteen four and two and he gets better every week.
Speaker 1: He put up twenty six four and six on ten
Speaker 1: for fourteen, shooting six for ten from three against the
Speaker 1: Bulls sixty percent from three in a big win. In fact,
Speaker 1: In fact, Memphis is ninety four with him as a starter.
Speaker 1: Two things stand out. Number one, he is a sniper
Speaker 1: from three forty two percent right now from deep as
Speaker 1: a starter on five attempts a game. Second for a rookie,
Speaker 1: he is protecting the ball. And we know how sometimes
Speaker 1: these rookies press, they turn the ball over a lot,
Speaker 1: trying to do too much. He's only turning it over
Speaker 1: one point two times in his twenty eight plus minutes
Speaker 1: a game. That is critical because the Grizzlies in general
Speaker 1: second to last in the league in turnovers at seventeen
Speaker 1: a game. Who's responsible for that? The most electric man
Speaker 1: on earth, Jaw, it's you. Second. His NBA stats are
Speaker 1: eerily similar to his college stats, meaning nothing about this
Speaker 1: start to his pro career really seems out of the ordinary.
Speaker 1: This is pretty much who he is and that I
Speaker 1: think that's a good thing moving forward right like, there's
Speaker 1: nothing out of the ordinary. Marcus Smart, who's been incredibly
Speaker 1: gracious about losing his starting position to a twenty one
Speaker 1: year old second round pick, said at this point, I'm
Speaker 1: just trying to win. I've started a pretty good amount
Speaker 1: over my career. He's come in, he's taken the reins
Speaker 1: really well, and we're gonna let him ride it out
Speaker 1: and see what he can do. Then later added, Wells
Speaker 1: has been incredible. He doesn't say much, but he listens
Speaker 1: and he hears everything, and he plays with the ultimate confidence.
Speaker 1: Most of the attention in Memphis has been on Zach Edy,
Speaker 1: of course, who's out with an ankle injury, or Yuki
Speaker 1: Kawamura the five eight Japanese victory cigar. But I think
Speaker 1: Jalen Wells might end up being the most valuable pick
Speaker 1: in this year's draft for Memphis Kia. The Kia Rookie
Speaker 1: Report had him number one on their ladder until Jared
Speaker 1: McCain bawled out. I'm not saying that he's gonna like
Speaker 1: win Rookie of the Year. It's kind of like a
Speaker 1: Power ratings. But unless he's losing minutes when Gigi Jackson
Speaker 1: comes back with I think it's supposed to be late December,
Speaker 1: but I'm not sure he's gonna be a solid piece
Speaker 1: of a good team for the entire year. And that
Speaker 1: is half the battle to at least being in the
Speaker 1: Rookie of the Year conversation. That's all the time that
Speaker 1: we have this episode of Heat Check. Happy Thanksgiving to
Speaker 1: all of you. I am grateful to everyone who listens
Speaker 1: to this podcast. I really am. I know that some
Speaker 1: people have this pod in their group chats and they
Speaker 1: talk about it. That's fucking dope. I really do appreciate
Speaker 1: every single one of you, everybody who follows me online, comments, trolls, shares.
Speaker 1: The shares have been awesome on Instagram this year, so
Speaker 1: I just want to say thanks and continue to share
Speaker 1: it on you know, send it to your drunk uncle,
Speaker 1: like take his phone when here when he just decides
Speaker 1: to go on a rent and rave, go out and
Speaker 1: maybe chop some wood he's left his phone in the kitchen.
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Speaker 1: past episodes of many episodes which drop unexpectedly, like your
Speaker 1: uncle after that second helping of turkey. Do not forget
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