Welcome back to The Morning Dunk!!
This weekly column keeps YOU, the reader, informed about the future of basketball. How are the NBA’s rookies and sophomores performing and developing? Who are the top NBA Draft prospects to keep an eye on? What should I watch this week to stay informed and engaged? And what are some of the best things I read last week from the No Ceilings team?
I’m not here to bomb you with boatloads of information every week. I’m here to get you up to speed on what matters and where the game is headed in terms of future talent.
So let’s not waste any more time; this was an action-packed week with NBA rookie debuts, sophomore standouts, and one major question I’ve left myself with after only a couple of games: Are the Memphis Grizzlies ALREADY ahead of schedule?
Written as of the afternoon of 10/25/26
The Slam Dunk: Are the Memphis Grizzlies ALREADY ahead of schedule?
Last season, the Memphis Grizzlies finished 25-57, in prime position to capture a top spot in the 2026 NBA Draft lottery. As a result, the Grizzlies were blessed with the No. 3 overall pick. That selection turned out to be Duke’s Cameron Boozer, arguably the most accomplished prospect we’ve seen enter the NBA since Luka Doncic.
That in itself doesn’t guarantee success next season. Building a contender in the NBA from the ground up takes time. However, we’ve seen teams take leaps from outside the playoff picture to at least making the play-in since the NBA brought that system into focus.
Before this season, Memphis was a popular pick for its “over” on wins. That number reached roughly 30.5 at most betting markets. That’s not a number that gets a team in the West into the postseason if it’s a slight over at 31-51. What this Grizzlies team has shown through a couple of games is a much higher bar than just barely scratching the surface of a chance at postseason play.
The Grizzlies won both games to start the season, and sit at 2-0 entering a Sunday showdown against the Sacramento Kings at the time of writing. Memphis’ first game against the Utah Jazz was a blowout the entire way, a 123-103 win. A second contest against the Golden State Warriors was much closer, 111-108, and came down to a game-winning shot by Boozer himself.
Ty Jerome has been spectacular to start the year, pouring in points from the perimeter at absurd efficiencies. Boozer, on the flip side, has struggled to shoot well in both games, but has been a mainstay contributor in other facets of the game. He’s been consistent on the glass, used his court vision and passing touch in the halfcourt and in transition, and battled on defense, sliding his feet well on the perimeter to keep up with quicker matchups.
But it’s not ONLY those two players who give Grizzlies fans hope for what could be more success earlier than anticipated. The current offensive ecosystem rests on three pillars: Jerome, Boozer, and dominant force Zach Edey. But role players contribute both in the starting lineup and off the bench: Cedric Coward, Jaylen Wells, Cam Spencer, Scotty Pippen Jr., GG Jackson, Jerami Grant, and Quentin Post.
That’s a total count of TEN PLAYERS that I just listed off in terms of who has already contributed in positive ways to what Memphis has done in its first two games. Most teams that were in the lottery a year prior, outside of some injury-riddled veteran squads, struggle to put even six real NBA players on the court in a game the following year. Memphis has legitimate pro talent at several key positions, and we haven’t even seen Isaiah Stewart take the court in the regular season yet!
Now, two games can’t establish that Memphis is destined to return to the postseason. No one is suggesting that. But when I use a phrase like “ahead of schedule,” I’m really talking about the team's overall identity and what this franchise is building toward.
Boozer and Edey give this team a foundation on the glass and in the paint. Most of the best basketball teams in NBA history have been built inside-out, not the other way around. Excellent post play and frontcourt versatility are one known way to achieve success in the league, especially if those positions are deep with talent. Right now, Memphis has at least three quality centers who can come in and play minutes platoon-style behind Edey, plus different variations of athletic forwards behind Boozer who give the team different looks depending on whether they’re subbing in strictly for Boozer or coming in together.
For example, minutes where Grant and Jackson are on the court together can be CHAOTIC, both in a good and bad way. But how many teams are matching the athleticism and ball skills of those two forwards in their second and third units? And how many teams have answers in the frontcourt to keep Edey and Boozer off the glass? If you double Boozer, he can pass it out and find the open man. Throw a double at Edey, and he’ll likely still muscle his way into drawing a foul. Leave both of them in one-on-one situations on the block or, in Boozer’s case, on a transition drive or from the slot, and chances are they’ll bully ball their way to success.
That’s just two-thirds of the equation through the first couple of games in Memphis, and not even the most important parts of the equation.
Jerome has been virtually unstoppable to start the year, and he’s the perfect perimeter counterpart to two young talents like Boozer and Edey. Jerome is built for an exceptional two-man game because he can burn defenses in pick-and-roll coverage. You can’t go under on a shooter like Jerome, and he’s the exact type of shooter who can fling shots in from 30-plus feet if Boozer or Edey come over and set screens within early offense. Show Jerome too much help, and he can find Boozer or Edey on a slip. Switch the coverage, and that’s a potential mismatch for Edey and Boozer to work off of in the post.
And if defenses want to load the paint and focus all their efforts on stopping those three players? Then it’s a field day of open threes for the supporting cast in Coward, Wells, Spencer, etc., or backdoor-cutting opportunities for forwards like Grant and Jackson.
When we evaluate players for the NBA Draft, we focus heavily on raw athletic talent, size, and positional versatility. How many positions can a player guard? Who are they actually built to defend? And does this player have the speed, strength, and length to capitalize on the court?
These are critical components of basketball; don’t get me wrong. But they need to go hand in hand with evaluating a player’s skill and awareness, with and without the ball.
Every job in life is just problem-solving at the end of the day, and that’s especially true in sports. When the defense presents a certain matchup and can scheme and adjust in several ways off it, does the offense have the personnel to solve those problems and turn them into advantages? For Memphis, the answer (so far) has been yes, so much so that we’re watching a winning foundation being built right before our eyes.
Now, this team isn’t perfect. Boozer, in particular, has had challenges when asked to do a little too much out of the gate in the halfcourt. His handle has been picked in traffic, and he’s still not the most explosive player right under the basket, two things that were criticized before he was drafted. Edey has to stay healthy for all of this to come together at its highest level. And Jerome isn’t going to score almost 37 points per game all season long.
But basketball is about flow and balance. Right now, Memphis is playing with both, and it’s happening through the youngest player in the NBA, Boozer, and one of the league’s best young big men, Edey.
I don’t expect Boozer to continue shooting as poorly as 8-for-28 through his first two games. He has excellent touch and feel for when to shoot and when to make the right play for someone else. His defense, especially in the halfcourt, has been beyond what was advertised at the start of the season, and I want to see those efforts continue. Same with his ability to scoop up rebounds and pass guys open, particularly in transition. Having two bigs in Boozer and Edey who present as many matchup problems as they do is a literal luxury in today’s NBA (especially when one of those two, Boozer, has as much potential as he does to shoot the ball well from three, like he did at Duke and has already shown against the Warriors). This league is obsessed with two things right now: finding as many “two-way” wings as possible and investing in skilled size that lets teams go small or even play with two bigs on the floor at the same time.
The Grizzlies are finding that luxury exists within this roster as long as all the pieces stay healthy. That identity puts this team, which just hit the reset button, potentially way ahead of schedule in finding that long-term identity, and we’re seeing it play out on the court in real time.
Rookie Spotlight
Yaxel Lendeborg, Golden State Warriors
Yaxel Lendeborg has been incredible to start the season. In his first week in the NBA, he’s done a bit of everything, totaling 56 points, 25 rebounds, 13 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block.
What stands out most is his three-point shooting; after a 6-for-11 performance from deep against the Phoenix Suns, he's at 8-for-18 on threes to start the year. He shows ZERO hesitation on those deep shots when he catches the ball in the corners or on the wings. He’s letting those threes fly with conviction, and it’s been a welcome sight for the Golden State Warriors, finding shooting from guys other than Stephen Curry.
So far, his best work has been off the ball, as a play finisher on offense. But there are moments when he gets the ball, and you can see the Warriors' vision as he fits nicely into a movement-heavy offense with Curry, Draymond Green, and (maybe) Jimmy Butler. Lendeborg has a great feel for the game and has made the right reads off the dribble, even if he did pile up six turnovers against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Lendeborg looks like the player advertised coming out of college: a potential star mismatch forward with the skill and talent to do a bit of everything on the court. I understand he’s an old rookie coming in, but why should age limit THAT type of skill/feel/productivity at 6’9” again? His play since Summer League has matched or exceeded his peers, including those picked far ahead of him near the top of the 2026 draft. DO NOT sleep on Lendeborg being a staple of this column moving forward, and a real challenger for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award.
Caleb Wilson, Chicago Bulls
I’ll be honest: I wasn’t impressed with Caleb Wilson during the preseason or in the first Chicago Bulls game against the Toronto Raptors. And I don’t think the poor performance was entirely on his shoulders.
As some of my esteemed No Ceilings colleagues have highlighted on social media, Wilson hasn’t been put in a prime position to succeed right out of the gate because of the freedom and lack of structure he stepped into at the start of his career.
Wilson’s handle and refinement working off the dribble just aren’t quite there yet for him to be viewed as a true primary or secondary creator at the NBA level within his first couple of games. Wilson is at his best when he can capitalize on an advantage someone else creates, whether it's a cut to the basket, a transition finish, or an easy catch-and-shoot shot, rather than dancing with the ball or thinking too long.
Wilson’s third game against the Washington Wizards looked MUCH different compared to his first couple of outings. Wilson was turbocharging his offense, using key defensive plays to create scoring chances for himself. Teammates found him for cuts and open finishes at the basket, where he had only one man to beat.
As he’s working to clean up his ball-handling, improve his decision-making when driving downhill from a standstill, and find his rhythm as an outside shooter, Wilson should embrace who he was primarily at North Carolina: a chaotic play creator on defense who used that same energy to find offensive rebounding opportunities and vertical finishes at the basket.
Wilson stands out to me as the best athlete in the 2026 class. He’s not the tallest or longest player, but his ability to rise one or two feet and make plays others can’t is freakish, to say the least. As long as Chicago keeps bringing Caleb along slowly, letting him explore the studio space at a pace that’s better suited for him, while also putting him in position to succeed away from the ball, the better off he’s going to be post All-Star break, as he should really be hitting his stride.
When he is used to his best ability, he can have nights where he’s already posting 30 points and 14 rebounds as a rookie in his third NBA game. He has the talent to be one of the best players in his class.
Darius Acuff, Sacramento Kings
I knew Darius Acuff would have a ton of offensive responsibility walking into the Sacramento Kings from day one. The job was tailor-made for a high-usage offensive guard who could score with the best of them.
What I didn’t expect to type so soon was that he attempted 50 freaking shots in his first two games in the league. 50!!!!
That’s an obscene amount of shot attempts, but here’s the thing… I really don’t think much of his offense was forced.
I watched all 50 of those shot attempts back, and there were maybe a handful of pull-up jumpers I think Acuff might even admit he’d want to take an extra second on and possibly pass off the look, given the situation they were taken in. But beyond that, Acuff got to every spot he wanted on the court.
Darius plays with great pace, especially in the halfcourt. When he got chances to move into a handoff or pick-and-roll situation, Acuff showed in his first couple of games that he can walk into two-dribble jumpers with ease. He knows exactly when to get the shot up and where on the floor to get it off before defenses react and contest. That’s not Acuff forcing jumpers every trip down the floor. That’s a confident guard who's been practicing scoring at a high level from day one.
Did all of those shots go in? No, no, they did not. But sometimes, the ball doesn’t go in the hoop. I know, crazy concept, Nate.
But my point is this: if more of those attempts had fallen, like in his second game when he racked up 33 points against the Trail Blazers, wouldn’t the headline be about Acuff having one of the best debut weeks in the rookie class? I still think, given how much responsibility he took on from the jump with vets like Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine around him, he had a better week than many would say because he took a lot of shots and his true shooting percentage was low.
Again, I care more about young players taking shots within the flow of the offense, and not forcing things just because the ball may not swing back around to them at the same cadence, or they may not get back on the floor for a while and feel like they need to justify themselves to their peers and their respective coaching staffs. I want to see rookies (and even second- and third-year players) make quality, repeatable, winning plays. Most of Acuff’s shots were in rhythm to me, and that’s impressive. The Blazers game was night and day compared to the Clippers game in terms of makes, but I’m not penalizing him aggressively because he was 5-of-24 in his first NBA start.
Now we can see how Acuff approaches some of those shots I said he might want back moving forward, and take advantage of his passing touch and ball placement to set even more of his teammates up for quality looks. Kings fans should be very happy they have Acuff to cheer for.
Sophomore Spotlight
Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs
Three games in, and Dylan Harper is picking up right where he left off for the San Antonio Spurs.
Last season, Harper’s calling card was using his big-bodied power and guard-like quickness to make teams pay around the basket, especially in transition.
This year? Well, it’s been more of the same. Harper hasn’t found his rhythm yet from three, and his pull-up shot, even inside the arc, is off to a 3-of-11 start, but he’s still as good as ever when attacking downhill.
He isn’t running the show for the Spurs, as San Antonio has decided to play De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Harper together. But when he’s gotten scoring chances, he’s still made the most of most of them. Harper is built to live in attack mode, and it helps when he can also guard his man on the other end of the floor and switch positions defensively.
The Spurs haven’t started the season the way Victor Wembanyama likely wanted, but I’ve seen some real bright spots with Harper and Castle.
You don’t see guards come into the league with Harper’s level of craft at the basket. The way he can decelerate, switch hands, and finish at tough angles is uncanny for a player his age, and he did it last year in the NBA Finals.
But there’s no question that even though I’m giving him flowers now, more of those pull-up jumpers have to go down if he’s going to lean into that shot more around the free-throw line area. There were several times against the OKC Thunder and the Houston Rockets when he 100% settled for contested mid-range looks instead of passing out for a better opportunity, or even resetting the offense and calling for a ball screen. Patience is a virtue, even in the NBA. He’s still learning, which is why it helps for him to have two other organizers on the court with him in Fox and Castle, who can take on the creation burden when Harper’s shot isn’t falling.
VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers
One of my biggest pre-season spots on the Locked On NBA Draft with No Ceilings Podcast was answering burning questions about each NBA team from a young player's perspective. And when I got to the Philadelphia 76ers, VJ Edgecombe was an easy choice.
Look, this franchise added game-breaking talent in LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to the mix alongside Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and the aforementioned Edgecombe. That’s a load of talent in one starting lineup, but it’s also a lot of guys who are used to being the best or second-best players on a team, who have the ball in their hands A LOT, having to come together and make sacrifices for the greater good.
Maxey and Embiid are the franchise mainstays, Edgecombe was a new addition last year, and LeBron and Brown are trying to do their part to fit in alongside everyone else. Over Philadelphia's first few games, we’ve seen each star take turns dominating stretches and running the offense. We’ve also seen everyone have to take a backseat at times.
One player who's taken a backseat by default is VJ, as expected given his pedigree and status in the pecking order. He’s a sophomore surrounded by accomplished veterans. Not getting as many chances to score and handle the rock was expected.
But I also said before the season he’d be a key x-factor in any title aspirations for the 76ers because he can take advantage of what the others are doing to set the table. Four other advantage creators can create opportunities for a dynamic, athletic play finisher like VJ. Not to mention, Edgecombe is great at creating his own offense in transition off of his defense, which he’s still done early in this season.
The question, though, is how Edgecombe continues to contribute without getting those developmental reps and opportunities to be “the guy.” Think about it. VJ is so talented; how many times in his life has he been the FIFTH best player on a team? That’s a mental adjustment, especially for an ascending young star like Edgecombe.
The good news is, he hasn’t let it affect him since his first game against the New York Knicks. Against the Milwaukee Bucks, Edgecombe scored 17 points but grabbed 13 (!!) rebounds as a shooting guard alongside other talented positional rebounders. Fighting for those extra possessions with his athleticism, and playing a specific role to extend possessions and make the most of created opportunities, is exactly what VJ needs to do right now. We’ll see how this season impacts his long-term development, but he’s repeatedly finding ways to impact the game without dominating the basketball, and that’s what this 76ers team needs from its fifth starter.
Hitting 5-of-10 threes against Milwaukee also helps the scoring, and I want to keep monitoring that spot-up three for Edgecombe. If he can hit 36-38% of his threes this season, that makes Philly much more dangerous, since it removes another weak point an opposing defense can attack. I want to see Edgecombe make key secondary reads, hit open threes, and keep bringing that explosive energy on defense and on the glass this season.
Kasparas Jakucionis, Milwaukee Bucks
I must own an error in my preseason coverage.
In that aforementioned 30-question series I referenced, when I discussed Brayden Burries and the Milwaukee Bucks, I didn’t give Kasparas Jakucionis the shine as a talented young member of that backcourt alongside Ryan Rollins, Tyler Herro, and Burries.
To Jakucionis’ credit, he’s actually looked pretty good to start the season as a do-it-all combo guard for Milwaukee. He’s controlled the game as a low-turnover playmaker and has made shots from multiple levels.
He’s made the most of his rim attempts and connected on some catch-and-shoot opportunities. We’re not nearly far enough into the season to judge his play as a handler in ball screens with this particular combination of bigs in Kel’el Ware and Myles Turner, but as an off-ball guard who has held his own defensively, Jakucionis has gone a bit under the radar in terms of sophomore discussion to start the season.
I want to see how he progresses because he has real size and scoring/playmaking chops that could add real utility to this Bucks roster. He’s far from just a throw-in from the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. Bucks fans should be excited that he, along with Ware and Jaime Jaquez, are producing early and often for Milwaukee.
No Ceilings Standouts
2027 Preseason NBA Draft Guide - NC Staff
International Snapshot: Dash Daniels - Stephen Gillaspie
2026 Ahead of the Curve: Big East Wings - Jam Hines
NBA Rookies First Impressions: NBA Draft Lottery Edition - Latif Love
What I’m Watching Next Week
Tuesday 10/27, Sacramento Kings vs. San Antonio Spurs: How does Darius Acuff match up with the Spurs’ dynamic, defensive backcourt in Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper?
Wednesday 10/28, Washington Wizards vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Can Alex Sarr assert himself on the interior against Cleveland’s veteran frontcourt, and can Kyshawn George continue his junior-season ascent against Peyton Watson and Jaylon Tyson?
Thursday 10/29, Memphis Grizzlies vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Can Cameron Boozer improve his interior scoring efficiency against Portland’s defense-first frontcourt? Zach Edey vs. Donovan Clingan!
Friday 10/29, Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics: Caleb Wilson’s decision-making and offensive execution against an experienced Celtics defense
Friday 10/29, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors: Yaxel Lendeborg in a rematch against Luka Doncic… Need I say more?
Saturday 10/31, Sacramento Kings vs. Memphis Grizzlies: A battle between two potential NBA Rookie of the Year favorites in Darius Acuff and Cameron Boozer
Sunday 11/1, Notre Dame vs. Villanova: The FIRST true regular-season college basketball game of the year, featuring potential Top 5 2027 prospect Luigi Suigo