Cedric Coward was scratched from the NBA Rising Stars due to injury

As it is The Memphis Grizzlies roster has gone through some changes going back to the trade deadline, the team is also loaded with young talent, just like rookie Cedric Coward. With Grizzlies rookie in Kukavica is recognized by the NBA as part of the NBA’s Rising Stars event during All-Star Weekend, it looks like he won’t be able to participate.

According to Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal, which covers Memphis, Coward will miss Friday night’s event as the striker is dealing with “right knee pain”. The plan is to reevaluate the injury after the ceremony and break.

While the team will play it safe with Coward, the 22-year-old from Washington missed the last game before the All-Star break with the same issue. It remains to be seen if the injury will affect him enough to miss the Feb. 20 game against the Utah Jazz when Memphis returns from the break.

However, his inclusion in the Rising Stars event made sense, as he stood out as a rookie despite the learning experience.

“I mean, it’s not just a mental or an emotional test, it’s a physical test for (the Cowards),” the head coach Tuomas Iisalo he said, according to Chris Dodson of ClutchPoints. “He doesn’t have that load, you know, that you have from previous years or even from the summer. So he’s had to play catch-up all season, and we’ve seen some early signs of that with the stress reaction in his foot.”

Tuomas Iisalo of the Grizzlies on Cedric Coward’s rookie season

So far this season, Coward is averaging 13.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 34 percent from the field. Iisalo would talk more about Coward’s rookie season so far.

“There were some other things, but (Cuckoo) did a great job,” Iisalo said. “I try to restrain myself to keep the minutes at an acceptable level so that he can continue to practice at the same time,” noted Iisalo. “Because it’s one thing to play heavy minutes in games, but if those minutes come from practice reps, that’s also not good for a player who obviously needs to get better to reach the highest level.”

In any case, it remains to be seen if Kukavica misses more time.