My Team - Grizzlies at Hawks

Tuesday night's home loss to Phoenix was frustrating to watch. The Grizzlies' failure to defend the paint in addition to crucial 4th quarter turnovers contributed to a loss that, on paper, should have been a win.

Tonight, the Grizz take the floor at the so-called "Highlight Factory". Atlanta, coming off a Tuesday night loss at Indiana, would also like a win to keep hold of their 6-seed place in the Eastern Conference.

After struggles against the Pacers, Josh Smith (4-12 FG) and Kyle Korver (3-13, including 2-9 in 3pt attempts) will look to get back into the groove at home.

The two teams' starters match up fairly well, but Zach Randolph's defensive assignment will be crucial to the Grizzlies' chances of winning. Marc Gasol and Al Horford play similar roles in their teams' offenses. Smith is more of a high-flyer than Randolph, and can be the kind of guy who has been giving Randolph fits lately. Will the Grizzlies protect the rim tonight?

Memphis and Denver are presently tied for 4th in the Western Conference, with Golden State a half-game behind the duo. Oh-by-the-way, the Warriors will be in Memphis Friday night.

Memphis will want to keep this game in the high 80s-low 90s. Atlanta will want to get up-and-down more. Both teams will be a bit tired in this second game of back-to-backs for each.

I cringe as I type a guess of Atlanta 103, Memphis 91. As usual, this guess isn't meant for gaming purposes, but for discussion and argument.

After the Game: Didn't watch (I was at Bible Study, and we covered Isaiah Chapter 60). Final score was Atlanta 103, Memphis 92 (I had to do a double take at that score). Looking at the box score, four of the five Atlanta starters outscored their Memphis counterparts, and the one who didn't (Josh Smith) went 19-11 compared to Zach Randolph's 20-7. Both teams hit 38 field goals, but Memphis needed 10 more shots (84 attempts versus Atlanta's 74). The Hawks doubled Memphis in three pointers (10-24 to the Grizz' 5-12).

Memphis was down 80-62 after three quarters. They had to put on a spirited 4th just to lose by 12. Yeesh.

Golden State lost 119-98 at Oklahoma City tonight (no surprise). The Warriors get a day off before playing at Memphis. If the Grizzlies don't show some fire to defend home court, it could get ugly in a hurry.