MEM vs ATL

[99PROBL3MS]

On paper the Hawks should take care of business and I think they will. The Grizzlies are a solid .500 team but I don't see them leaving Phillips with a win. On another note, if the Hawks handle business tonight and NYK upsets CHI, ATL takes possession of 1st place in the Eastern Conference. Thoughts on the game?

[BrazilianHawk]

This is the perfect game for the Hawks to let us all down. I hope they play seriously from the beggining and I also hope to see Jason Collins glued to the bench for the hole game.

GO HAWKS!!!

[frosgrim]

First home games after a long road trip are potential trap games. Guys loose a little bit of the edge they played with on the road as they have to deal with home issue as soon as they walk in the door.

I think the key to the game will be keeping Gasol in check and making life tough on Gay. Gay's going to get his points, but the Hawks need to make him work. As always, rebounding is the key stat and Z needs to keep Gasol off the boards, especially the offensive boards.

[hawkman]

On paper the Hawks should take care of business and I think they will. The Grizzlies are a solid .500 team but I don't see them leaving Phillips with a win. On another note, if the Hawks handle business tonight and NYK upsets CHI, ATL takes possession of 1st place in the Eastern Conference. Thoughts on the game?

Thoughts? Yes. Win this game and the Philly game at all costs. I'm dying to see the look on some of these analyst's faces when the Hawks are the top seed and LD coaches the All Star game. That would be priceless. They could lose the top seed after the AS break for all I care as long as they keep homecourt through the first round or so.

[Guest]

This could be a let down game with players feeling fat and happy about going 4-1 on rad trip. I hope that is not the case and we run them into the ground. I think we will need JaCo against Gasol, just because of Gasol's height (7'-1") and his post game.JaCo can actually force him off his sweet spot if nothing else and we wouldn't have to double him.

[ATLSmith]

I think the Hawks are perfectly aware of the teams standing and with Miami's loss last night they'll look to take advantage with another win.

The only thing that concerns me about tonight's game is Gasol and Randolph, and only because we lost some size with Horford out. If the Hawks start getting out-rebounded it is going to be along night.

[Dnice]

Is Zach still injured?

[ersimo2889]

Is Zach still injured?

Zach Randolph is out until early March, so we won't see him this season!

[Joker]

Z-Bo should be out for the season like Al.

[jy23]

Zbo is out like everyone else said but this is still a tough team...what I'm really worried bout is tony Allen on Joe, tony is a hell of a pesky defender n is sure to make Joe work tonight n if Joe can't get it going then is josh capable of picking up the slack tonight bc we all know he hadn't really been on his game lately. Marvin should do ok with rudy although I still expect rudy to get his 20, the thing we need to focus on is making sure juice doesn't get going off the bench, if we can keep him quiet then they have nothing else on that bench....n I do mean NOTHING

[Guest]

LD has to do a better job of running Joe off multiple screens to give him easier shots when he has pesky defenders on him. Joe has to work too hard for his shot sometimes.

[HawkItus]

Hawks have to win. Plane and simple. If they really think they are elite, you beat the good teams at home.

[99PROBL3MS]

Zbo is out like everyone else said but this is still a tough team...what I'm really worried bout is tony Allen on Joe, tony is a hell of a pesky defender n is sure to make Joe work tonight n if Joe can't get it going then is josh capable of picking up the slack tonight bc we all know he hadn't really been on his game lately. Marvin should do ok with rudy although I still expect rudy to get his 20, the thing we need to focus on is making sure juice doesn't get going off the bench, if we can keep him quiet then they have nothing else on that bench....n I do mean NOTHING

I think Joe can dominate Allen in the post with his size and strength. If his jumper is on then there is no guarding Joe. Zaza has the size to bang with Gasol. He gets in trouble when he stats reaching and gambling. Thats how he gets those silly fouls. We WILL need twin for a little but tonight though in my opinion. Having Hinrich back to match up with OJ should help. I can't wait to see the Teague vs Conley matchup.

[benhillboy]

No Z-Bo? On top of the Conference with a win after Jennings smashed the Heat for us? We f@&kin better.

[lethalweapon3]

It'll be much harder for Joe to turn into Joe-be again tonight, with the clingy Tony Allen following him around and denying him coveted spots near the rim. That means whoever gets Rudy Gay as their assignment must attack, attack, attack and make the man work. As for another favorable matchup on offense, whoever gets Marreese Speights should be able to call for the ball and declare aloud, "You, sir, are the Weakest Link. Goodbye!" Making Memphis rely on Q-Pon, Josh Davis, and Dante Cunningham if their frontline gets in early foul trouble is a win.

Expect a lot more turnovers than usual since Memphis is #1 in Steals and in Opponents' Turnover Rate. Atlanta will have to be sure their guards and wings get back in transition and stem the fastbreaks when the ball gets stripped. They would also do well to avoid driving into Marc Gasol, who ranks 3rd in the NBA in charges drawn, 4th in blocks, and 6th (among Centers) in steals.

Gasol has been responding to Coach Hollins' recent request to be less of a facilitator (3 assists in his last 3 games, but 47 assists in his the 12 games before that) and more of a presence in the paint (14 offensive boards in his last 4 games, compared to 14 total O-Rebs in the 9 games prior to those). It will be interesting to see the different matchups the Hawks employ on him.

Don't be surprised to see O.J. Mayo playing a little more backup point guard for defensive purposes, especially if Hinrich is brought into the game to play the point. Hollins was pleased with the results the other night when he went with Mayo to cool off Andre Miller, going for a more veteran look instead of rookie Josh Selby.

Not a lot of mystery to the Grizzlies' offense, as they are last in the league in 3-point takes and 3-point makes (less than one per quarter). They've struggled most of the time away from the FedEx Forum. A measly 85.8 PPG in 11 road games ranks them ahead of only the Wizards, Bobcats, Raptors, and Pistons, compared to 102.1 PPG in Memphis, ranking sixth overall for home scoring. A little 3-point magic from the likes of The Impaler, T-Mac, Joe, Blink, and Black Swan could give the Hawks the edge they'll need tonight. The Hawks are now second in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (ahead of the Magic and just behind Ray Allen's Celtics) even with you-know-who lofting up a prayer every now and then.

~lw3

[HawkItus]

Anybody want to catch the game tonight? I'm thinking about just walking up, it so nice today.

[Admin]

Anybody want to catch the game tonight? I'm thinking about just walking up, it so nice today.

I hope a bird poops on your head! ... haha jk, but seriously you suck for being able to get to do that. I'm about to leave work and fight traffic for 45 minutes just so I can get home and watch the game on my MacBook.

Definitely looking forward to another 10-15 or so point win at home tonight!!

[jy23]

I hope a bird poops on your head! ... haha jk, but seriously you suck for being able to get to do that. I'm about to leave work and fight traffic for 45 minutes just so I can get home and watch the game on my MacBook.

Definitely looking forward to another 10-15 or so point win at home tonight!!

Lol I forget sometimes that there are actually people outside of Atlanta that care about the hawks

[DJlaysitup]

I think this is gonna be a tough one...of course I expected us to lay an egg against TOR.

I just hope we come out working...Memphis has some horses. GO HAWKS!!

P.S. - let's make our free throws ;-)

Edited February 3, 2012 by DJlaysitup

[Admin]

Man these guys are out "Hawking" the Hawks with their length and scrappiness and causing all of these ugly broken plays. I know we want to play up tempo but we've got to be able to do that while playing under control if we're going to win this game.