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Battle of Rising Stars as Hawks-Grizzlies face off

We’re in for an offensive showdown between two generational point guards



the Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks battle it out on Beale Street. These two teams have had roughly similar seasons. To varying degrees, both haven’t quite lived up to expectations.

The Grizzlies are an interesting case whether they’re right in the middle of expectations in terms of standings, overachieving in the eyes of some, and underachieving in some crowds as well. After a big run into the Eastern Conference Finals, where they came within 2 wins of a trip to the NBA Finals, the Atlanta Hawks could’ve been due for a big breakout in the regular season. Instead, they’ve kind of sputtered out of the gate. However, they’re picking up some steam here, as they’ve won 6 games in a row.

A generational battle
We’re lucky and blessed to have a battle between two of the best young guards in the league. Ja Morant and Trae Young have the makings of the next great point guard rivalry.

Both point guards drive the engine of their teams’ offense, as they have the scoring and playmaking chops to make their systems lethal when clicking. They are both on the “All League Pass team” with how they conduct the game with flair, pizzazz, and audacity.

It should be a fun battle to watch, and we should appreciate it. While both players will surely get theirs offensively, whoever outperforms the other could go a long way into determining the outcome of this game.

Please, Please Defend the 3

Good news: the Atlanta Hawks rank in the bottom-5 in 3-point attempts per game (31.9)

Bad news: they’re second in 3-point percentage (37.1%).

So while their offensive design might be encouraging, they have plenty of weapons from outside that could expose the Grizzlies’ spotty perimeter defense. They have a plethora of players shooting above the league-average from 3 — Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, Cam Reddish, Trae Young, Danilo Gallinari, just to name a few.

It sounds like a broken record, but this will be a major key as the Grizzlies try to overcome these woes.

tbhawksfan1 wrote:Great game. Easy win . Interesting that some were pretending that Memphis had the best young core at a time in the past. Wrong!
This Hawks team is super young and already formidable