Atlanta Hawks Game Preview: March 17th vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Breakdown and Prediction
These are two basketball teams that are good but have areas of weakness that each can exploit. But also have some similarities.
Neither team scores a ton of points or has an overly explosive offense, as the two teams rank 20th (Atlanta) and 27th (Memphis) in points per game. There is also the absence of a dominant scorer for either team but both teams have some very good offensive players.
Marc Gasol (20.1 points per game) is an elite playmaker at the center spot that can post up, shoot from the perimeter, and pass as well as any big man in the league. His offensive skill set might be the most complete of any center not named DeMarcus Cousins.
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He is assisted by super poised and very skilled point guard Mike Conley. Conley is having a career year, averaging 19.9 points per game and 6.2 assists per game.
But both of these key players face tough matchups from the Hawks in Dwight Howard and Dennis Schroder.
Howard, an elite rebounder, is very strong on the glass and that is Gasol’s weak point. Schroder also has the length, speed, and defensive skill to give Conley problems.
Paul Millsap may be Atlanta’s greatest weapon in this game. He will provide a matchup problem for either of the Grizzlies’ power forwards, whether it be Zach Randolph or JaMychal Green. Neither Green or Randolph have the defensive ability to stop Millsap when he is at his best offensively.
These two teams just played in Memphis on Saturday and the Hawks looked like the far better team. It is not reasonable to expect the Grizzlies to play that poorly again but the Hawks have more room for improvement.
Howard was given the night off in that game and the Hawks come back home for this contest. With Howard’s paint presence back in the lineup, the Hawks have more roads to victory than they did in the first meeting.
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The Hawks should be able to win this game without any major struggles if they play anywhere near the level that they did on Saturday. And with the Hawks playing better basketball of late, they should be getting their fourth win in the last five games.