The Hawks and Grizzlies certainly have one thing in common

The Atlanta Hawks (10-9) are one of the hottest team’s in the NBA right now having won six straight games. They have gone from five games below .500 just under two weeks ago to one game above now. It had been a lot of home-cooking as five of their six wins came within the friendly confines of State Farm Arena.

That changed with their 124-106 dismantling of a floundering San Antonio Spurs team.

Now, they’ll turn their focus to a road date with a Memphis Grizzlies (9-9) squad that we said before the season had a very 2021 Hawks-like feel to it. They are a good mix of young players and vets that could make some noise if they can make the playoffs for the second straight season.

They are also led by an electrifying player whose recent stretch is on-par with the Hawks very own superstar.

Trae Young and Ja Morant have been on similar runs over the last couple of weeks

Trae Young has played out of his mind lately as the Hawks have rallied. He’s averaged 27.2 points, 8.8 assists, and 4.5 rebounds over this run. Most importantly he has controlled the flow of the offense and the Hawks have averaged 3.5 more assists per game over this stretch than in the previous 13 games.

Ja Morant has been on a similar tear for the Grizzlies, averaging 25.4 points, 7.1 assists, and 6.1 boards over his last nine games.

However, Memphis is just 4-5 in that stretch and has lost two of its last three.

Morant’s numbers just aren’t translating to wins lately despite their being 7-3 when he scores over 25 points and just 2-6 when he is below that. Again, he has had a very similar impact on the Grizzlies as Young does on the Hawks.

Most point guards do but these two take it to a different level. That also means the game plan defensively will be about stopping them first.

For Young, that has meant opponents have tried to trap him, forcing him to get the ball out of his hands. This is where the supporting cast has made opponents pay as the Hawks are knocking down 40.9 percent of their catch-and-shoot threes. That’s up from 37.4 percent over the first 13 games of the season.

Conversely, Memphis “boasts” the worst defensive efficiency from the perimeter, allowing opponents to can over 40 percent of their threes, and the third-worst defended field goal percentage differential so far this season.

Morant is also less efficient on catch-and-shoot attempts than when he can pull up or attack the rim.

Atlanta would be well-served to employ a similar strategy as their opponents have and try trapping the ball out of the springy point guard’s hands, turning him into a (less problematic) off-ball threat.

He will also have to deal with Clint Capela waiting for him at the rim.

Young, who is listed as day-to-day with an ankle injury, has shot 41.7 percent from downtown over the Hawks winning streak while they lead the league, shooting 40.8 percent from beyond the arc as a team in that same span.