Le Journal

Cedric Coward was never going to be your average rookie. Drafted No. 11 overall at 21 years old, Coward’s path to the NBA was anything but conventional. There were no USA Basketball camps, no high profile AAU circuits, no McDonald’s All American games. Instead, his journey ran through Division III Willamette University, then Eastern Washington in the Big Sky, before a short six game stint at Washington State that was cut short by injury. That unconventional background has not slowed his introduction to the league. If anything, it has accelerated it. Rather than being eased in, Coward has been thrown straight into the deep end by Memphis, starting games and taking on real responsibility at the defensive end. Night after night, he is asked to guard players with more size, polish, and NBA experience than he had ever previously encountered. And yet, he has handled the challenge with a level of composure that belies his rookie status. “It’s been great,” Coward said. “I done got my *** busted a couple times, but I’ve also played guys pretty well at the same time. You’re learning multiple things at one time.” What has separated Coward early is not just that he survives these matchups, but how he impacts them. For a player listed as a shooting guard, his shot blocking stands out immediately. Coward offers a level of rim protection that is rare for his position, rotating from the perimeter to contest at the basket with timing and length rather than reckless gambling. Head coach Tuomas Iisalo sees that defensive profile as both unusual and foundational. “He’s a very unique defender for his position,” Iisalo said. “He’s basically a shooting guard or off guard and offers for that position a ton of rim protection, a ton of length, and also defensive rebounding, which is often the importance of that is maybe marginalised.” That combination shows up in the numbers and on film. Coward is one of only two rookies to post both a positive offensive and defensive Actual EPM, according to Dunks and Threes, alongside VJ Edgecombe. Context matters. He is not being sheltered. He is defending primary options on the perimeter, then sliding into help situations where his length can erase mistakes at the rim. View Link Those plays are not accidents. They reflect preparation and awareness. Coward studies tendencies, understands angles, and rarely overcommits. He is willing to concede a difficult pull up if it allows him to stay in position to contest the next action at the rim. Memphis ranks as a top 15 defensive team overall, but the Grizzlies are 4.4 points better defensively when Coward is on the floor. That improvement is not accidental. His presence changes what lineups can attempt defensively, allowing more pressure at the point of attack because there is unexpected rim protection behind it. Iisalo is careful not to frame Coward’s early success as a finished product. “Every rookie has a lot to learn,” Iisalo said. “He’s had a lot of early success in the league, but it’s very important to think about like the best years are far ahead. It’s just constant learning and no better way to learn than to be in the deep end. Against great players and just having different type of matchups.” For Coward, progress is defined less by perfection and more by response. “I think for me, it’s just always making sure whatever mistake I made, you try not to make the same mistake twice.” During the third quarter of the NBA London game, Coward was guarding Franz Wagner and pre-empted a screen, momentarily giving up a clean driving lane to the rim. Once he realized the mistake, he did not give up on the play. He recovered to get back into the action with a rear view contest that slowed Wagner’s gather. That split second mattered. It gave Jaren Jackson Jr the time he needed to shift over and protect the rim. Plays like that explain why the trust is already there. Despite his rookie status, Coward has been empowered with one of the most demanding roles on the roster.…

LONDON — GG Jackson has plenty of talents. Scoring instincts, physical tools, and a rapidly improving feel for the game all sit comfortably on that list. Accents, however, do not. Before getting into the patience, defense, and behind the scenes development that have defined his season in Memphis, it is worth acknowledging that even as Jackson sharpens his NBA craft, some skills may remain works in progress. GG Jackson tries out his British accent 😂 https://t.co/3UEowMOCot pic.twitter.com/GRDO2Im3Fx— NBA (@NBA) January 16, 2026 Beyond the joke, Jackson has carried himself with a positive, lively energy throughout the trip, pairing that openness with a growing sense of professionalism. He has been engaged, present, and comfortable in the environment, reflecting a level of maturity for a player still early in his NBA career. In a setting like NBA Europe, where routines are disrupted and attention increases, Jackson embraced the experience rather than being distracted by it, treating the trip as another opportunity to learn, represent the organization, and continue his progression. Jackson’s season has been a quiet lesson in patience, both from the outside looking in and from inside the Grizzlies organization. For a fanbase that saw flashes of his scoring talent early in his career, the wait for consistent minutes this year has been deliberate, sometimes frustrating, but developmental by design. After a 2024–25 season disrupted by a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot that limited him to just 29 games, Jackson’s offseason started earlier than most. He made a point of it. “Well, guys like me, Jaylen (Wells), Cam (Spencer), we all came back a little bit earlier than others,” Jackson said. The focus was clear. Defence first. “And just mainly defense for me, that was huge last year. I kind of was a liability on the court. And that was my biggest thing coming into this year. I didn’t want to be a liability. And being a young guy, second round pick, I know defense is the one way I can stay on the floor.” That self awareness has shaped everything about Jackson’s progression. The Grizzlies coaching staff have not rushed him, even when the offensive talent was obvious. Instead, they prioritized habits that would hold up at NBA speed. Head coach Tuomas Isalo has been candid about how nonlinear that process can be for young players. “Well, even though the production has come recently, the work he’s been putting already started in the summertime where he was in the gym constantly,” Isalo said. “With young players, you want to see the results right away. But it doesn’t always happen like that.” There was a stretch where Jackson was doing the right things without the obvious payoff. No rotation security. Limited production. That was intentional. “Even though GG was doing the right things, the results weren’t there yet in terms of rotation minutes or production,” Isalo said. “Because of this, it was very important for him to play with hustle in the G League. He got reps there, and then he brought back a completely different type of confidence.” That confidence is now showing up both in the numbers and in Memphis’ lineup data. According to Cleaning the Glass, Jackson has taken a massive leap as a finisher, converting 78 percent of his attempts at the rim, up from 50 percent last season. That improvement is not just about touch. It is about intent and physicality, something Jackson alluded to when discussing his post injury adjustment. “Coach Tomas stressed it not only to me but to everybody. Aggressive but patient,” Jackson said. “He always told me my superpower is getting downhill. Coming back from rehab, I added a little more weight, and I’m just trying to use it differently instead of floating around the three point line. My dad gets mad about that.” Whether it is the NBA or high school basketball, some truths are universal, and disappointing your dad remains near the top of the list. There were positive signs in London, with…

As the saying goes, the NFL is a copycat league. If an offensive system works for one team, other teams are going to copy it. If an assistant coach pans out as a great head coach, other teams will try and duplicate that hiring model. All with the goal of reaching the league’s mountaintop: The Super Bowl. The New England Patriots are 60 minutes away from that mountaintop, with backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham and the Denver Broncos standing in their way. Even if Drake Maye and company fall short this weekend, their turnaround will be a model that other underwhelming teams will look to next year, as they went from last place in the AFC East, to the brink of the Super Bowl. With that in mind, here are three teams that could complete a similar turnaround from last place this season, to something bigger in 2026. Tennessee Titans If there is a team that could follow New England’s path, the Titans might be the most likely candidate. It starts with the quarterback. New England entered this season with Maye, the third-overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft who showed flashes during his rookie campaign. But Maye exploded this year, becoming an MVP candidate, one of the league’s more efficient passers, and a true threat in the downfield passing game. In Cam Ward, the Titans are hoping for a similar second-year leap. But beyond Maye, the Patriots had something else going for them heading into 2025, which was an incredible amount of cap space. New England had money to spend, and they spent it, bringing in players like Milton Williams, Carlton Davis, Robert Spillane, Stefon Diggs, and more, to revamp a roster that needed help on both sides of the ball. According to Over the Cap, the Titans have over $80 million in effective cap space, the most in the NFL for 2026. The head coach component is a final step the Titans need to conquer. Mike Vrabel looks to be the perfect coach right now for the Patriots, and his first season in Foxborough. As for the Titans, is Robert Saleh that head coach? Now the question might shift to whether the Titans can find their version of Josh McDaniels. New Orleans Saints There are, for sure, some differences between the New England Patriots heading into 2025, and the New Orleans Saints heading into 2026. One is the head coach component. The Patriots rolled into 2025 with Vrabel, an experienced coach for sure, but one starting on his first year in Foxborough without a uniform and pads on. In Kellen Moore, the Saints have a rising second-year coach, and one rooted on the offensive side of the football not Vrabel’s defensive background. Then there are the financials. While the Saints are working their way out from the dire financial position they faced just a few seasons ago, they are still over the cap heading into next season. New Orleans can get cap compliant rather easily — as outlined in this piece just three moves (a Chase Young restructure, a Juwan Johnson restructure, and a Chris Olave extension) — would get them under the cap before they do anything else. But there is a difference between being cap compliant, and having the kind of financial freedom the Patriots had just one year ago. Still, there is one thing the current Saints and last year’s Patriots have in common. The hope at quarterback. Tyler Shough took over midway through the 2025 season from Spencer Rattler, and has shown more than enough to hold the job heading into next year. And with the Saints slipping down the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft order thanks to a strong finish to the season, they are out of the range of Fernando Mendoza anyway. That likely means rolling into 2026 with Shough and building around him in the draft, and with what they can accomplish in free agency. New York Giants In New York, we might have a winner. The financial piece is a question: At the time of publication, the Giants are just under the salary cap, with a little under $2 million in cap space according to Over the Cap. (Over the Cap also indicates that they…

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