ESPN.com: Hollinger: Claw Power

It's encouraging to read that I'm not the only one who found last night's game less than enlightening. John Hollinger, from Philips Arena, on the Hawks' blowout loss:

Call Memphis' 96-77 rout over the Hawks an eye-of-the-beholder game.

Some will take it as a sign of the West's superiority to the East. Others will write it off as one of those nights that has been unusually frequent in the post-lockout, schedule-compressed NBA.

A few will take it as proof that the Grizzlies, despite a modest 12-10 mark, are more than capable of making the West playoffs even without Zach Randolph.

And still others will see a signal that Atlanta -- which is 13-0 against sub-.500 teams and 3-7 against those above -- doesn't belong in the rarefied air its 16-6 start suggested.

On one thing we can all agree: Memphis beat the living tar out of Atlanta on Thursday, going up by 24 through three quarters and leading by as much as 30 in the fourth before a burst of cosmetic scoring by Jannero Pargo -- much of it at the expense of his younger brother, Jeremy -- made the final margin a bit more respectable.

Initial Feedback: Some Thoughts

Initial feedback: A completely subjective and immediate response to the events of tonight's game, featuring a comment and rating, the latter on a scale of 1 to 10, on every player who saw the floor and the head coach, along with ephemera and miscellany as the author deems necessary.

Your ratings and commentary, dear reader, are welcomed in the comments to this post.

Boxscore

Players
Josh Smith: If Josh Smith is results-oriented, he'll shoot at least six jump shots on Saturday. 5/10

Jeff Teague: Lionel Hollins must have been in the 1979-80 Topps NBA set I collected back in Westmoreland, KS which put me on this path. 4/10

Joe Johnson: I don't remember his card at all. 4/10

Marvin Williams: Larry Drew was still at Missouri, then. I have no first hand memory of his collegiate playing days (still miss you, Kansas City Kings, though) and consider myself lucky not to have lived consciously through a time when Kansas had the lesser college basketball program on the border. 3/10

Zaza Pachulia: Lionel Hollins was on the 1976-77 NBA Champion Portland Trail Blazers. That team had a outsized impact on my childhood for three reasons 1) Older folks thought it really important for me to understand that Bill Walton was not always a gimp with fused ankles but perhaps the greatest post-Wilt center when healthy, 2) Maurice Lucas was awesome, in both senses of the word, 3) Twardzik is not a name easily forgotten. 3/10

Kirk Hinrich: It's best not overreact to the events of any one game. 3/10

Tracy McGrady: It's especially good not to overreact to the events of any one game in an atypically compressed season. 3/10

Vladimir Radmanovic: I wonder what Kenyon Martin thought about tonight's game? Does this result leave him cold, in need of a more likely contender? Does it make him anticipate potentially available minutes in Atlanta? 3/10

Jason Collins: Is this the worst of what happens when you play Jason Collins for no good reason? Be well, impediment, be well. No rating

Jannero Pargo: A nice night for the Pargo family. I'm not made of stone. 3/10

Willie Green: With each passing day, I become less convinced that the regular season will define this team. 3/10

Ivan Johnson: This hunch brings me no comfort. 3/10

Jerry Stackhouse: It's inherently unfair to judge this team on the playoffs. The players, at least. This team isn't built for the playoffs. Or anything particular, really. Blowout losses at home are the worst and, regardless of good intentions, overreaction is, in the end, inevitable. 1/10

The head coach
The flip side of handling your business. 2/10

A thought regarding the opposition
I don't know how talented Josh Selby is, but there is no doubt in my mind that the existence of NCAA basketball, in its current form, was terrible for his development.

Quotes, Notes, and Links: Atlanta Hawks 112 Memphis Grizzlies 109

Recap

Gameflow

Hoopdata boxscore

Highlights

Jamal Crawford:

"Joe is our franchise player, and we can't wait to have him back. But for now, everybody else has to step up."

Al Horford:

"We knew we had to do it collectively. Obviously we'll miss Joe. At the same time it's going to make us stronger as a team."

Larry Drew:

"Tonight it was Mike Bibby who knocked the big shot down. I'm going to get more play calls to him."

Mike Bibby's three three-pointers in the final 4:22 came about as follows:

• Al Horford hand-off to Bibby followed by a massive Horford screen on Xavier Henry.
• Terrible pass from Bibby to Horford on a screen-and-roll that Horford controls at his ankles and quickly returns to Bibby.
• Following a Horford offensive rebound (of a Bibby miss) and a Josh Smith offensive rebound (of a Horford miss), Horford shows a ball-screen for Jamal Crawford but slips the screen. Crawford finds Horford in the lane. The entire Memphis defense collapses on Horford, who hits the cutting Crawford, who finds Bibby alone in the corner.

The Hawks don't need more plays run for Mike Bibby, they just need him to continue to knock down the open shots he gets as a result of the team featuring Al Horford in the offense.

Larry Drew on Horford:

"Al’s been playing well for us. We are counting on Al and he has stepped up big for us."

Josh Powell:

"I just did the same thing I’ve been doing every game. I can score but that part I don’t really worry about. I just wanted to come out and show what I could do on both ends of the floor."

The final both-ends-of-the-floor tally on Josh Powell's performance: 62 points on 44 possessions for the Hawks (offensive efficiency: 140.9) and 56 points on 45 possessions for the Grizzlies (defensive efficiency: 124.4). Powell's on-court time was a net positive but it takes a lot of made 18-foot jumpers to overcome bad defense before and after (1 defensive rebound in 23:11 for Powell) the other team puts up a shot.

Lionel Hollins:

"They played just as if Joe Johnson was there, they just didn't feature anybody as much as Joe Johnson when he's there."

Jamal Crawford:

"I think that's tough for other teams to key in on when you've got six or seven guys scoring like that."

Peachtree Hoops has ample pre- and post-game audio.

Atlanta Hawks 112 Memphis Grizzlies 109

Boxscore

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
MEM	92	1.185	54.2	21.4	37.5	14.1
ATL	92	1.217	57.6	26.6	22.2	12

The Hawks will have four-to-six weeks to learn to play without Joe Johnson. The initial evidence suggests both that he won't necessarily be missed offensively* and that's he's not central to the team's defensive problems. As to the former, the Hawks can't expect Josh Powell to shot 88.9% for any length of time. As to the latter, if Josh Smith can stay out of foul trouble (or Larry Drew can refrain from creating foul trouble where it may not exist) the Hawks won't have to watch Josh Powell keep the other team in the game for the better part of a half.

*Home team scorekeepers and all that, but 33 assists on 42 made field goals is mighty nice.

Zach Randolph lit up Powell to the tune of 8 points, 4 offensive rebounds, and an assist while Josh Smith sat for 15 minutes of the first half with two personal fouls. The Hawks allowed 20 points during the 9:30 Powell played across the third and fourth quarters, though Powell's comic* inability to guard the screen-and-roll was mitigated most of that time by Al Horford's presence on the court. 8 of those 20 Memphis points were scored during the 2:20 Horford spent on the bench.

*His choice to run as hard as he could toward half-court, bypassing both screener and ball-handler by several steps was a technique with which I was not familiar.

For the second time in three games Horford was massive in the fourth quarter. 8 Of his 20 points, 2 of his 6 rebounds, and 2 of his 6 assists came in the final 10:02. Plus he contributed his usual assortment of quick, accurate passes that did not lead directly to baskets and solid screens. Defending alongside Powell and with the Grizzlies having gone small, Horford had to guard Rudy Gay on the wing, a task he accomplished admirably.

Of course, on a night where eight Hawks scored at least eight points (and make no mistake the Hawks won by outscoring the Grizzlies) Horford didn't win the game by himself. Mike Bibby knocked down three three-pointers in the final 4:22 to polish off a 15-point, 8-assist night. Jamal Crawford missed some tough, borderline forced shots down the stretch but still scored 16 points on 12 shots and earned 8 assists. (Granted, the Hawks needed such production from both veteran guards to counter Mike Conley's second terrific outing against Atlanta's nominal perimeter defense.) Marvin Williams (15 points on 11 shots, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Marvin Evans (9 points on 4 shots) continued to demonstrate the value of their good health to the Atlanta Hawks. Jeff Teague played perhaps the best basketball of his professional career in the first half and finished with 8 points and 5 assists.

Even the mixed performances from the power forwards were more good than bad. Replicable or not, Josh Powell did make 8 of 9 field goal attempts though his three turnovers and two rebounds take some the luster (that remains after factoring in his defense) off his performance. Similarly, Josh Smith managed to turn the ball over 4 times in just under 23 minutes (3 of them passes to Tony Allen in a 60 second stretch of the third quarter) and needed 15 shots to score 13 points but his defense and rebounding (when on the court) likely made his performance a net positive.

It's unlikely that Joe Johnson's absence will be a positive but, as poorly as he's shot the ball so far this season and considering how much of his value is wrapped up in that skill, it's possible the Hawks (with three other shooting guards on the roster, as well) are not appreciably worse in his absence.

First December Game Preview: Memphis Grizzlies (8-10) @ Atlanta Hawks (11-7)

Don't forget that you have until the end of this game to enter the contest to win 2 tickets for Monday's game in Orlando. The winner will be announced immediately prior to the posting of the game recap.

TIP-OFF: 7pm (EST)

TELEVISION: SportSouth

RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.

CHAT: Daily Dime Live

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Grizzlies

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Joe Johnson is questionable. Pape Sy is out.

MEMPHIS INJURY REPORT: Darrell Arthur is a game-time decision.

BY THE NUMBERS

2010-11	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
MEM (off)	92.5	1.066	49.4	20.6	26.1	16
ATL (def)	90.9	1.063	48.8	27.6	26.8	14.4

2010-11	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
MEM (def)	92.5	1.082	50.5	30.7	30.4	19
ATL (off)	90.6	1.098	51.6	23.2	25	15.1

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: 3 Shades of Blue

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -5.5, 197 o/u

PREVIOUSLY...the Memphis Grizzlies have won four of five games including wins over the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers. All four of those wins came at home and the loss was at Cleveland. For the season, the Grizzlies are 2-6 on the road with the wins coming at Dallas and at Sacramento.

The Hawks beat the Grizzlies 119-104 in Memphis to open the season. This will be a different Memphis team tonight. Both Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph are healthy, Mike Conley, Jr. appears to have established himself as a competent NBA point guard, and OJ Mayo is coming off the bench.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

Quotes, Notes, and Links: Atlanta Hawks 119 Memphis Grizzlies 104

Recap

Gameflow

Hoopdata Boxscore

Highlights

Undefeated head coach Larry Drew:

"It's huge. I've been thinking about this for a long time. This is my first win. I've got to enjoy it."

Congratulations.

Joe Johnson:

"I got a lot of wide open looks. I just didn’t make a lot of shots. At times I was a little too excited. For me to not have a great shooting night and for us to win big like this tonight, it’s perfect."

A couple of tidbits gleaned from the Hoopdata boxscore underline how Johnson had a better game than the traditional boxscore might indicate: 1) 3 of his 7 assists led to three-point baskets and 2) he didn't attempt a single shot between the free throw line and the three-point line.

Larry Drew on the perimeter defense:

"We had a few problems with Conley on the high pick-and-roll but we made a few minor adjustments."

Those adjustments contributed to Rudy Gay and Sam Young combining for 19 points in the third quarter before Lionel Hollins ran his deep bench out there for the final two-and-a-half minutes and lost the game for good. There was a cost to slowing Mike Conley (1-5 FGA, 1 assist, 2 turnovers in the third quarter), but it's not like Larry Drew has bountiful defensive options* so the Hawks will almost always be giving something up when they focus on stopping someone. Let's hope that, in the future, the someone they have to stop is better than Mike Conley.

*I suspect it's a sign of how entrenched Jeff Teague is as the backup point guard at this point in time that he didn't get brought in specifically to stay in front of Conley. Teague and Conley shared the court for just 5 minutes and 25 seconds last night. Though, to be fair, Conley was 2-2 from the field for 5 points with an assist when Teague was on the court.

Larry Drew on Teague:

"One thing I have been trying to instill in Jeff is the fact that with him on the floor, his speed, his quickness and his ability to push the ball. He can guard. We need that type of energy and he’s the only guy on our team who has it."

Josh Smith:

"Preseason is preseason. That’s what people have got to realize."

Josh Smith's shot chart vs. Memphis, 10.27.10

Johnson:

"There are going to be games where the bench has to pick us up, like tonight. They did that, and we were able to come in and finish them off."

Drew on playing Pachulia for 20 straight minutes in the first half:

"I didn’t want to put him in for the second quarter especially when Zaza was going well. I spoke to Al on the bench about that and he was fine with it."

Horford:

"I think coach felt like I didn’t have to play in the second quarter. It was one of those games where I couldn’t get it going. I just have to get back focused and get ready for Friday."

Lionel Hollins on Zaza Pachulia:

"Pachulia just killed us on the glass all night long. That was a huge factor."

The Human Highlight Blog tabbed Zaza as the star of the game because he, among other things:

Singlehandedly disproved any notion that Hasheem Thabeet was going to make his mark this season in the NBA.

Kris Willis on offensive diversity at Peachtree Hoops:

It is important to point out that the Hawks didn't run the motion offense exclusively. They still called some high pick and roll plays and a few isolation sets in certain instances. I was critical in the comments section of Jamal bogging down the offense but in looking at the situation again it appeared that the Hawks probably had a high pick and roll called instead. There were two instances in the fourth quarter where Memphis rookie Xavier Henry was matched up on Joe Johnson. Joe immediately backed him down into the post scoring on the first opportunity and passing out for a Mike Bibby three after the Grizzlies were forced to double team on the second.

The fact is set plays and isolations are a part of basketball at all levels. You just don't want it as the backbone of your offense as it was last year.

Atlanta Hawks 119 Memphis Grizzlies 104

Box Score

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL	96	1.24	57.5	33.8	23.1	15.6
MEM	98	1.061	48.8	23.3	20.5	14.3

There's no diminishing the value of an easy road win, but there are legitimate reasons not to set the ease with which the Atlanta Hawks dismissed the Grizzlies in Memphis as the standard against which the Hawks should henceforth be judged. It was a good performance by the Hawks, but one clearly aided and abetted by their hosts.

Marc Gasol's absence and Zach Randolph's early exit gave the Hawks an opportunity to control the defensive glass. To their credit, they took advantage of that opportunity and maximized the advantage by consistently pushing the ball up the court after Memphis misses to the tune of 26 fast break points. The Grizzlies led the league in offensive rebound rate last season. Take that away from them and they're a well below-average offensive team even before accounting for the loss of efficient post scoring from Gasol and Randolph.

Thus, there's little comfort to be taken from the Hawks allowing 1.061 points per possession. Despite the good rebounding, Marvin Williams's good work in the first half in shutting down Rudy Gay, and Josh Smith's spectacularly effective help defense, the team's familiar defensive problems defined much of the night. Mike Conley (23 points on 15 shots, 8 assists) inflicted most of his damage when matched up against Mike Bibby but both Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson had chances to prove they still can't stay slow even a nominal NBA point guard.

Without Zach Randolph, Lionel Hollins went small at the start of the second half and, with both Gay and Sam Young in the game, Memphis could consistently take advantage of the fact that the Hawks employ only one player capable of guarding small forwards. Hollins deserves credit for that move as well as blame for putting out lineups of Acie Law/Tony Allen/Sam Young/Darrell Arthur/Hasheem Thabeet and Law/Allen/Xavier Henry/Demarre Carroll/Thabeet late in the third quarter to help turn a 6-point deficit into a 16-point hole by quarter's end.

Larry Drew inspired a couple of minor worries himself: sitting Al Horford for the final 20:33 of the first half after he picked up his second personal foul, then bringing Josh Powell off the bench before Zaza Pachulia in the third quarter despite Pachulia's 13 point, 9 rebound first half. Neither decision affected the outcome of the game but are both worth watching going forward.

The lowering of expectations out of the way, it must be said that the defining element of the game was the ease with which the Hawks scored. In addition to his fine defense, Marvin Williams scored 15 points on just 6 shots. Mike Bibby mitigated his poor defense to a fine degree by scoring 19 points on 9 shots, making all 4 of his three-point attempts, and earning 4 assists against a single turnover. The aforementioned Pachulia finished with 17 points on 7 shots (plus 7 free throw attempts) and 5 offensive rebounds.

Jamal Crawford needed 11 shots to score 13 points and Joe Johnson used 16 shots and 11 free throw attempts to score 22 but neither forced the offensive action to any serious degree. That Johnson got the the line 11 times should be cause for celebration in Atlanta (as well as concern in Memphis for their lack of interior depth) as should his 7 assists, many of them courtesy of his teammates' movement off-the-ball punishing the Memphis defense for the attention paid Johnson. Larry Drew's motion offense will face tougher tests but it cleared its initial hurdle with much room to spare.

Only Josh Smith and Al Horford really struggled* offensively. Horford's failure to get in rhythm could plausibly be linked to his foul trouble. Smith's problems were purely self-inflicted.

Josh Smith's shot chart vs. Memphis, 10.27.10

Seven of Smith's ten field goal attempts were taken outside of 17 feet. He made just two of those shots, including his only three-point attempt. Smith converted all three of his attempts inside the paint. He also earned 4 assists in just 25 minutes, demonstrating once again how self-indulgence can't fully negate his gifts.

*Bad as he looked both catching passes and forcing shots, Josh Powell was 3-7 from the floor and committed just one turnover.

Opening Night Preview: Atlanta Hawks (0-0) at Memphis Grizzlies (0-0)

TIP-OFF: 8pm (EDT)

TELEVISION: SportSouth

RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.

CHAT: Daily Dime Live

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Grizzlies

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Pape Sy is out.

MEMPHIS INJURY REPORT: Marc Gasol, Greivis Vasquez, and Acie Law IV are all listed as day-to-day.

BY THE NUMBERS

2009-10	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL (off)	88.8	1.134	50.6	21.3	28.2	13.3
MEM (def)	92.3	1.115	52	27.1	26.7	15.3

2009-10	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL (def)	88.8	1.083	49.7	28	27.2	15.4
MEM (off)	92.3	1.098	49.2	23.5	31.3	16.2

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Memphis -2.5, 195 o/u

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: 3 Shades of Blue

PREVIOUSLY...the Memphis Grizzlies won 40 games in 2009-10 despite a 2-9 finish to the season. To the fourth-most successful team in franchise history they've added Tony Allen and Acie Law IV as veteran backcourt depth, Damien Wilkins to their stable of poor reserve small forwards, drafted Greivis Vasquez and Xavier Henry, and hope for a strong return from a healthy Darrell Arthur while losing only Marcus Williams and Jamaal Tinsley from those who played 500 minutes for them last season.

The early indicators for the 2010-11 Grizzlies are promising. Memphis won all 8 of their exhibition games (including a 115-111 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta). Only three teams did that in the past nine seasons (the 2009-10 Orlando Magic, the 2008-09 New Orleans Hornets, and the 2002-03 Detroit Pistons) and each of those teams won at least 49 games.

The Hawks enter the game tied for first in the Southeast Division, one-half game ahead of the Miami Heat.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

Hawks 108 Grizzlies 94

Boxscore

Hoopdata Boxscore

Gameflow

Highlights

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL	85.6	1.262	60.1	25.7	31.3	17.5
MEM	85.6	1.098	52.5	12.5	27.0	15.2

The Grizzlies have now capitulated twice to the Hawks this season. Their home court advantage delayed the end of the competitive portion of the game by one quarter but the result was the same. Whether its better coaching, better team construction, greater maturity, or simply greater talent the Atlanta Hawks understand that the Memphis Grizzlies cannot compete with them for 48 minutes. Thus, a nine-point deficit with 2:19 left in the second quarter inspired no panic. 103 seconds later the deficit was gone. 8 minutes and 1 second after that, the Hawks took the lead for good.

I don't believe effort failed the Grizzlies so much as they failed to maintain their purpose. Zach Randolph repeatedly got great post position against Josh Smith in the first half. In the third quarter, Randolph went 1-6 from the floor, with half of his field goal attempts coming after grabbing an offensive rebound and two others on jump shots of 20 or more feet. Now, the Hawks gave Smith more help in the third quarter, effective help from Al Horford, but neither Randolph nor his teammates continued to work to get the ball deep in the post quickly.

Memphis lacked the ability to make any sort of defensive adjustment, even to keep up with Jamal Crawford while Joe Johnson and/or Josh Smith were out of the game. Crawford scored 15 of his 28 points (and earned both of his assists) in a 5 minute, 13 second stretch at the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter during which Atlanta's lead ballooned from four to sixteen points. The bulk of Crawford's damage was done alongside Mo Evans, Joe Smith, Marvin Williams, and one of Horford or Josh Smith. There was no deception as to how the Hawks would attack. They simply challenged Memphis to stop Crawford. Memphis could not.

Nor could Memphis continue, in the second half, to force turnovers to create transition offense. Atlanta turned the ball over just four times in the second half before the benches emptied and those four turnovers led to just four fast break points. The Grizzlies scored 31 points over that 20:18 stretch of the second half. Quite a difference from the first half, where nine Atlanta turnovers contributed to Memphis scoring 16 of their 55 points in transition.

Mike Woodson:

"It was like an old-school shootout [in the first half]. I let you score, you let me score. In the second half, I felt like our defense stepped up to do what they needed to do."

Lionel Hollins:

"We tried playing zone in the fourth quarter and they destroyed the zone as well. Jamal Crawford got going and made a lot of shots."

Jamal Crawford:

"[I]t wasn't just me. It was all my teammates finding me and coaching running some great plays. I had the easy part, just knocking the shots down."

Woodson on Crawford:

"It's what the guy can do. It's a guy that can put the ball in the hole. We've got to utilize it and put him into positions where he won't fail. He has helped us tremendously this year. He has been able to score the ball and has been able to make plays for other people when he had the ball in his hands."

Emphasis mine as the head coach succinctly explains Jamal Crawford's usefulness and success this season. Crawford is not an appreciably difference player but he's playing in a context that maximizes his strengths and minimizes his weaknesses.

Hollins, again:

"I think we've overachieved a little bit in what were doing. We had great chemistry and were coming together. We've gotten a little bit tired. We have to work extremely hard to win a game, and we have worked hard. We're set at 26-25. Could we have won more games? Yes. Should we have won more games? I don't know. But I'm excited where we are at versus where we were when I took over this team last year. I'd like to keep that in perspective as we go forward. We're a team that's trying to overchive and a team that's trying to get some respect around the league from our peers."

A fair assessment of the Grizzlies, in my view.

Peachtree Hoops:

[T]hat was a surprisingly good win. Maybe better put, that was surprisingly good offense. Especially in the face of incredible offense by the opposing team for two quarters. If you take away the turnovers, this is as good as the Hawks get on offense. That is not to say it as good as they could be, or even are, but as the Hawks are built and run, that is as good as they can play on offense turning the ball over 15 times.

I say that because I am a sucker for diversity and made jump shots.

Now, there's a T-shirt idea.

Kurt Helin, Pro Basketball Talk:

There were moments during this game when I was actually rooting for a turnover in a half court set because it leads to beautiful fast breaks by both teams. But they will run on anything, even a made basket -- which led to my favorite play of the game (mid third quarter): OJ Mayo slipped out off a Hawks make, got the long pass ahead of the pack and was heading for a layup but Marvin Williams raced down and blocked it off the backboard, right to the hands of Zach Randolph trailing the play, and as he goes up Josh Smith comes running into the play and swats it from behind. The Hawks do not make it easy on you.

February 9th Game Thread: Atlanta (32-17) @ Memphis (26-24)

TIP-OFF: 8pm (EST)

TELEVISION: SportSouth

CHAT: Daily Dime Live (in which I will be participating)

RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Grizzlies

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Zaza Pachulia is out.

MEMPHIS INJURY REPORT: Darrell Arthur is listed as day-to-day but is expected to make his season debut tonight.

BY THE NUMBERS

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL (off)	89.7	1.128	50.4	21.2	27.3	13.2
MEM (def)	92.1	1.113	51.9	26.8	27.6	15.3

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL (def)	89.7	1.076	49.5	28.8	27.1	15.8
MEM (off)	92.1	1.104	49.6	23.3	32.3	16.4

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -1, 199.5 o/u

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: 3 Shades of Blue, Straight Outta Vancouver

PREVIOUSLY, THE MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES...lost 109-102 in Minnesota on Saturday night. It was the third straight loss for the Grizzlies and their fifth in six games.

The Hawks beat the Grizzlies 110-97 on December 16th in Atlanta.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

Quotes, Notes, and Links: Hawks 110 Grizzlies 97

Gameflow

Highlights

Joe Johnson played excellent defense on Rudy Gay last night. If Joe continues to defend 3s this well and Jamal Crawford and Mo Evans keep shooting the ball well, it's tough to figure out when and where Marvin Williams will get minutes.

Marvin, of course, doesn't seem troubled about that:

"The biggest thing is [Johnson] didn't give him a lot of room to operate. Rudy's an explosive player. When he has enough space, he can do a lot of things. I think Joe took up that space from him tonight."

Joe Johnson:

"I love that challenge [of] showing a different side of me, not just the offense but defensively guarding their best player."

I don't know if Josh Smith ever expected to be asked a post-game question about Randolph Morris and Othello Hunter but he handled it with aplomb: "Any time those guys get a chance to come in and contribute to a win, it's always good. We're going to need those guys if someone gets hurt."

Lionel Hollins:

"We had a lot of turnovers, man. That was basically it."

'Nique touted a similar line through much of the broadcast last night but Memphis didn't really pull ahead of the Hawks in number of turnovers committed until they turned it over four times in the first 3:20 of the fourth quarter, at which point the result was less in doubt than when Woodson would pull the starters.

Hollins:

"They are hard to match up against, they're very athletic, and they do a good job of diversifying what they're doing. hey have unique talent. We don't have that kind of versatility. Youth had nothing to do with that. It was turning the ball over, and letting them have layups, and not executing very well. You can't defend layups."

Were I a Grizzly fan, I would not be especially impressed by that post-game diagnosis from the head coach.

Marc Gasol:

"We just couldn't do anything with their athleticism. The way they switched and boxed out hurt us tonight. Al Horford is a great offensive rebounder, and Josh Smith is coming from the outside to box out."

As a Hawks fan, that warms the part of my heart I save for rebounding.

Hawks 110 Grizzlies 97

Boxscore

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
MEM	90.5	1.071	52.0	28.9	35.1	22.1
ATL	90.5	1.215	51.6	15.1	39.6	15.5

The Hawks changed it up a bit tonight, playing a sloppy offensive first quarter before their second unit overwhelmed a lesser team's second unit in the second quarter creating momentum that the first unit maintained through the end of the third quarter* before a summer league game** broke out over the final eight minutes allowing Memphis to keep the final margin more respectable than Toronto or New Jersey or Chicago managed.

Atlanta's offense isn't going to have any problems with a team that neither pressures the ball*** in the half-court nor gets back defensively in transition. It's tempting not to take much away from another game against fundamentally uncompetitive opposition but don't forget that the current five-game winning streak began with the Hawks winning a far different kind of game in Dallas.

As in the win in Dallas, Joe Johnson was excellent tonight. Unlike the Dallas game, he had plenty of help. The post rotation clearly outplayed their counterparts. Jeff Teague was promising. Jamal Crawford was solid and Maurice Evans again played as if he's trying to usurp Jamal Crawford's Sixth Man of the Year campaign.

*Hawks 61 Grizzlies 42 over the middle two quarters

**Randolph Morris and Othello Hunter grabbed six offensive rebounds but just one of five possible defensive rebounds over the final 7:50. Sam Young scored 14 of his 18 in the final 8:22 after going 2-7 from the floor with three turnovers against NBA competition.

***UPDATE (10:42pm): Lack of ball pressure doesn't adequately describe the failings of the Memphis defense. There's no help defense either. Pretty much any Hawk (Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia included) could get wherever they wanted off the dribble without having to deal with a second defender.

December 16th Game Thread: Memphis (10-14) @ Atlanta (17-6)

TIP-OFF: 7pm (EST)

TELEVISION: Fox Sports South

CHAT: Daily Dime Live

RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Grizzlies

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Joe Smith is out.

MEMPHIS INJURY REPORT: Darrell Arthur is out.

BY THE NUMBERS

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
MEM (off)	91.9	1.096	49.6	24.0	32.7	17.0
ATL (def)	90.7	1.068	49.8	26.3	26.6	15.8

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
MEM (def)	91.9	1.129	52.9	27.2	26.7	15.1
ATL (off)	90.7	1.158	51.3	21.7	29.9	13.1

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -9.5, 206 o/u

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: 3 Shades of Blue, Straight Outta Vancouver

PREVIOUSLY, THE MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES...dropped a 110-105 game at home against Boston Monday night. Memphis have lost two of three in the last six days but have won nine of fifteen over the last month. The Grizzlies have improved their defense from terrible to bad over that fifteen game stretch and have cobbled together a decent offense considering they only have four guys (Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, OJ Mayo, and Marc Gasol) who can score (though rookie* Sam Young gets his share of shots up). As might be expected, that quartet of scorers plays a lot, joined by a shoot first point guard. Mike Conley, Jr. most of the time with either Jamaal Tinsley or Marcus Williams shooting worse and turning the ball over more often in relief.

*Young's both a rookie and older than Gay, Mayo, Conley, and Williams. I wonder how that dichotomy influences the locker room dynamic.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

Hawks 111 Grizzlies 96

Boxscore

Maurice Evans returned in a big way (27 points on 10 shots), Jeff Teague continued to suggest he would have electrified Vegas in the Summer League, Courtney Sims appeared to use his 13:11 well, and Mario West made a three-pointer.

I cannot believe that last item failed to make the highlights. Better know your audience, NBATV.

Evans:

"[Teague] makes a tremendous difference having a point guard on the second unit who really distributes the ball the way he does. I found myself really open and getting quality looks."

Remember, there's a Hawks chat today at 12:30pm at ESPN.com.

Hawks/Grizzlies Preview

Chip Crain at 3 Shades of Blue previews tonight's pre-season clash, the last of the less serious exhibition games the Hawks play this month.

Grizzlies 98 Hawks 90

Boxscore

Gameflow

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL	90	1.00	47.4	23.7	18.2	15.6
MEM	90	1.09	52.7	42.5	17.9	12.2

I had the game on but I can't in good conscience say I watched it. Other than Othello Hunter presenting Exhibit B in his argument to be an actual 11th man on the roster I suspect I didn't miss much. This is here primarily to complete my set of 82.

Back to work on the large playoff series preview post.

April 15th Game Thread: Atlanta @ Memphis

TIP-OFF: 8pm

TELEVISION: SportSouth

RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Grizzlies

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

Grizzlies Offer Josh Smith $58 Million

There's little information beyond that included in the post's title. Report comes from the Memphis Commercial Appeal (HT: Micah at Hawks BasketBlog). The Hawks have seven days to match the offer.

For those interested in contemplating a sign-and-trade, here's the Memphis roster with salary information though the Grizzlies have sufficient cap room to sign Smith without giving anyone up.

Hawks 116 Grizzlies 99

Boxscore

Gameflow

Through the better part of the three quarters I thought the primary thing I would take away from the game was that Marvin Williams seems to have remembered how he can be an effective offensive player. Halfway through the fourth quarter all I could think about was how much work must be done this off-season.

It's confusing to be deflated following a 17 point road win. It's odd to win a game in which you allow the other team a 32-6 run or when you score 15 points over the final 14:47 of the game. On a night when each of the top 6 Hawks played very good basketball, the rest of the team could not play competently enough to coast to victory over a 19-54 team they had down by 38 points.

The Hawks only have six good players (Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, Al Horford, Williams, Josh Smith, and Josh Childress). Two of those (Smith and Childress) are restricted free agents and there are reasonable concerns about the organization (partly stemming from questions as to who would make the decision) re-signing both of them. They have two more guys (Law and Pachulia) who one hopes could useful bench players on a more functional team. Other than that there's nothing.

They must hire a competent head coach. They may hire a new general manager. Other than signing Zaza Pachulia, Billy Knight has shown no ability to find cheap, useful bench players. A second round pick in his hands turns into Salim Stoudamire, Solomon Jones, or about a season of Anthony Johnson. Budget free agent signings consist of (in addition to Pachulia) Speedy Claxton, Mario West, and Jeremy Richardson.

And that's how you build a bench that can't hold a 38 point lead against a bad team. If the Hawks, as is looking ever more likely, sneak into the playoffs it'll say more about Pat Riley, Isiah Thomas, Larry Harris, Michael Jordan, Jim Paxson, Rod Thorn, Larry Bird and others than anyone involved in managing the Hawks.

More Late Than Never

Boxscore

Gameflow

The responsibilities of real life superseded my commitment to this enterprise Saturday night. If I spoke to anything more than the excellent first quarter, I'd be putting you on.

Apparently I missed not only Lorenzen Wright's 2007-08 debut but also an exciting halftime coaching adjustment. Take it away Mike Woodson:

"We got them out of the locker room a little bit earlier than we have in the past. They were able warm up a lot quicker, and it was a nice carryover into the third quarter."

Your thoughts, Josh Smith?

"It got our bodies moving."

I guess we'll see if this works as well when the opponent isn't 6-13 and playing the second game of a road back-to-back after the previous night's game went to overtime.

Preview of tonight's game in Orlando appearing shortly.