Off the back of consecutive defeats away from home, the Atlanta Hawks will be aiming to return to winning ways when they welcome the Memphis Grizzlies to the State Farm Arena on Sunday.
The Grizzlies, on the other hand, will head to Atlanta this weekend on a high after recording the largest victory of the 2024-25 NBA season so far last time out.
Match preview
© Imago
Taking to the court for the first time since their NBA Cup semi-final exit to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, the Atlanta Hawks visited the Frost Bank Center on Friday to square up against an in-form San Antonio Spurs outfit.
Despite going into the interval with a six-point advantage, Quin Snyder's men surrendered their lead in the third quarter and were less than 20 seconds away from losing in regulation time before De'Andre Hunter knocked down a late game-tying shot.
However, that would only end up delaying the inevitable as number one draft pick Victor Wembanyama took control of proceedings in overtime, scoring eight of his side's 13 points to sink the Hawks.
While the Hawks would have been disappointed to have come up short last time out, they had four players scoring 20+ points in a game for the first time this season, which bodes well for their offensive output going forward.
Having split their 28 games so far into 14 wins and 14 defeats apiece, the Hawks are seventh in the Eastern Conference standings with the second-most games played in the top 10, only behind the Orlando Magic.
In the first of four straight home matches between Sunday and December 28, this weekend's hosts will be seeking to string together a decent run of results on home turf before embarking on a six-game road trip.
© Imago
The Memphis Grizzlies delivered by far their most impressive performance of the campaign to put the Golden State Warriors to the sword in a 144-93 triumph when the teams locked horns at the FedExForum on Friday.
Limiting their opponents to 38 points on 11-47 shooting in the opening half, Taylor Jenkins's men stormed to a whopping 31-point lead but never took their foot off the gas as they pulled further clear over the subsequent 24 minutes of action to secure a 51-point win.
The Grizzlies are now 11-2 over their last 13 matches and 19-9 for the season to sit second in the West which is nothing short of impressive for a team who finished bottom but two in the conference last time out.
A major contributor to the Grizzlies' resurgence has been their offensive firepower as they currently boast the most points per game in the entire NBA (122.9), while only the Denver Nuggets have more assists per game than their 30.5.
Sunday's visitors were beaten 99-92 in their last meeting against the hosts earlier this year, although they did come out on top in three straight regular-season encounters prior to that, averaging over 125 points per game.
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Imago
Back-up center Onyeka Okongwu is ruled out with an inflamed knee and is expected to miss only a couple of games, so he should be back before the end of the year.
The home side will also have to cope with the absence of Cody Zeller due to personal reason but Kobe Bufkin will not feature again this season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Recording a whopping 16 dimes last time out, Trae Young is now up to 12.2 assists for the season, 2.4 more than reigning MVP Nikola Jokic in second place.
Marcus Smart (shoulder) and Jay Huff (left ankle sprain) both missed the Grizzlies' win over the Warriors but could be back in time to feature this weekend.
Floor general Ja Morant was unable to complete the aforementioned game as he had to come off with an injury, making him a doubt to play any part in Sunday's trip.
GG Jackson II (foot) and Vince Williams Jr (ankle) are guaranteed absentees for the away side here, although both men are closing in on their respective returns to action.
Atlanta Hawks possible starting five:
Young, Daniels; Risacher, Johnson; Capela
Memphis Grizzlies possible starting five:
Pippen Jr, Bane; Wells, Jackson Jr; Edey
We say: Hawks to win by 5+ points
Given the offensive firepower on display, we are expecting an enthralling affair with both teams going full throttle.
The potential absence of Ja Morant significantly impacts the Grizzlies' chances of coming out on top, and we can see the Hawks emerging triumphant.
Adepoju Marvellous
