Atlanta Hawks Travel To Memphis for A Showdown with the Grizzlies

An early evening matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies is next on the list for the NBA’s top-seeded Atlanta Hawks as they look to build on a new win streak.

The game marks the beginning of a short three-game road stretch, and will be another test against the tough Western Conference the Hawks have already found success playing against this season.

Our last chance to watch the Hawks came on Friday night in the highly publicized match with the West-leading Golden State Warriors. That game was tightly fought and ended with a triumph for Atlanta in what may have been one of the most entertaining games all season.

The Hawks started the game on a cold spell offensively, but strong defense allowed them to stay close into the second half where the offense caught up, leading to the Hawks registering 124 points against what may be considered the best defense in the league.

Jan 7, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) in action against the Memphis Grizzlies during the 3rd quarter at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 96-86. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports

Seven of the nine players that saw the court for the Hawks on Friday scored in double figures, led by Jeff Teague’s 23 points, with 11 coming from the free throw line where he was perfect the entire night.

Looking at today’s game, the Grizzlies mark another impressive team to come up against the Hawks this season, and Atlanta may need another strong performance to keep this new win streak alive.

This will be the second-and-final game between these teams during the regular season. Atlanta took the first matchup in early January when the Hawks won 96-86 led by 25 points from Teague.

The Hawks will still be without Thabo Sefolosha on Sunday night, but Kent Bazemore has stepped up in his absence and will be depended upon off the bench.

Shelvin Mack also returned to the active list on Friday after missing the previous nine games with a calf injury, although he did play any minutes in the game. He is expected to be available once again against the Grizzlies.

Memphis is returning home after finishing their recent three-game road stretch with a loss at Minnesota. The Grizzlies suffered the loss without Vince Carter, who suffered a foot injury and will likely be unavailable again Sunday.

The Grizzlies have fielded one of the top teams in the West this season (currently 2nd-best), lead by Marc Gasol’s All-Star campaign and the strong play of point guard Mike Conley.

Zach Randolph, Courtney Lee and Jeff Green round out the rest of the evenly distributed lineup for Memphis, with Jeff Green set to appear in his 14th game since being traded from Boston only a few days after the last meeting between the Hawks and Grizzlies.

Key Element To Watch For: Defense

The Memphis Grizzlies have represented one of the better defenses in the league through this season as they stand with the lowest opponent’s points per game average in the league at the moment.

This top defense also sports the 8th highest steals per game and the 10th lowest opponent field goal percentage.

The Hawks have also fielded a top 10 defense this season, only having a point higher opponent points per game average and the 5th lowest opponent field goal percentage.

Atlanta’s team defense finds their success by forcing more threes and keeping teams out of the paint.

The Grizzlies have struggled some on offense, mainly from behind the arc, which may determine how successful the Hawks are if they force a poor shooting performance out of Memphis.

The Grizzlies are in the middle of pack in opponent three point percentage, and the Hawks may use their league best three point shooting to outperform this strong Southwest division opponent.

For Memphis to find success, they will need to force turnovers to disrupt the Hawks effective offense and continue their pattern of protecting the ball well in return.

Regardless, expect another low scoring affair between these two, with the effort on defense determining the victor in this one.

Next: Hawks' Starting Five Named East Player(s) of the Month

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