Hawks Vs Grizzlies: Game Preview, How to Watch, and Projected Starters For Tonight's Preseason Game.

The Hawks start the preseason off at home against a revamped Grizzlies roster looking to forge their identity.

Mar 23, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) tries to get to the basket against Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells (0) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's October and the Atlanta Hawks are back in action - kind of.

More accurately, they're opening up the preseason circuit with a really interesting matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies. Although he's been slowed by injuries, jettisoning Ja Morant to Portland and drafting Duke phenom Cam Boozer at No. 3 overall shows that Memphis is changing the direction of their franchise. The trio of Boozer, exciting sophomore wing Cedric Coward and the giant Zach Edey are now the future; it's a great test for the Hawks to match up with a young team that has something to prove.

Projecting forward, they'll take on the reigning Western Conference Champions in the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, October 8th before closing the week off with a matchup against a Indiana Pacers team attempting to claw its way back to the top of the Eastern Conference. I expect all three games to be interesting assessment points for the Hawks. Atlanta's got a mix of both young players and veterans, but being competitive in all three would lend credence to the idea that this team should still view itself as a real threat to challenge for the postseason in a stacked conference.

Game Preview

Rookie Runway

Sep 28, 2026; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zuby Ejiofor (20) poses for a photo at media day. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tonight will be the first time fans have seen Zuby Ejiofor and Kingston Flemings since they were in Summer League. Both players have now gone through an NBA training camp and spent the summer working on their game to hit the ground running. In tonight's matchup, however, there are two big questions that fans should be focusing on for each player.

Flemings was a turnover suppressor at Houston and routinely showed a competitiveness on defense that is rare for a smaller guard. He's got all the tools to be a great playmaker one day, but the question remains in his shot. He did not shoot the ball well in Summer League and it'll be harder to find his shot against tougher NBA competition. The Grizzlies have two solid perimeter defenders in Jaylen Wells and Cedric Coward, so it'll be interesting to see how Flemings' pull-up jumper looks on the possessions they're guarding him.

Ejiofor's got a big test in Boozer and an even bigger test - literally - if Edey plays. Zuby's shot blocking prowess was proven in college and he got the better of Boozer at times on defense. While his shot is also a question mark, I think that it's going to take time to come around for him. I'm more interesting in seeing how much of a plus rebounder he can be at the NBA level and if his defense is translatable against Edey despite the latter's physical advantage.

Is Bigger Always Better?

Oct 11, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Lawson Lovering (34) and Atlanta Hawks forward Jacob Toppin (0) battle for a rebound during the fourth quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Speaking of big problems, the Hawks have reinforced their backup center rotation by bringing back ex-Grizzly Jock Landale to spell Onyeka Okongwu. Ejiofor will get some looks there as well and Asa Newell's growth as a sophomore will be fun to watch. However, Memphis's size doesn't just extend to their center and PF spot.

Jaylen Wells and Cedric Coward are 6'7 and 6'5 respectively, but that height isn't just for show. Both players are very physical and shot above 60% at the rim last season. Coward actually made over 70% of his rim attempts and Wells did so in his rookie season before being less effective as a sophomore due to injuries. It'll be interesting to see how Atlanta's new-look defense handles their rim pressure and ability to get hot from deep. The Hawks' perimeter defense was impressive in the second half of the season, but tonight will be a data point in proving whether that was just a mirage or a sign of things to come.

I'm also interested to see how Memphis' defense looks generally. They traded Jaren Jackson Jr ahead of the trade deadline last season and then finished the season 29th in defensive rating. Prior to the trade, they were 17th in defensive rating. They dealt with a lot of injuries, but it'd be encouraging to see if Atlanta can punish a defense with questionable production in their first true appearance as a team with starters in.

Backcourt Battle

Mar 23, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ty Jerome (2) loses the ball to the defense of Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum (3) and forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One of the most interesting parts of this Memphis team is the backcourt. I think Ty Jerome is one of the more underrated guards in the NBA due to his quietly excellent passing, lethal range as a shooter and ability to scale up to a bigger role in the regular season. It'll be fascinating to see how Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels handle the assignment.

Even though he may not start, Grizzlies guard Cam Spencer had an argument to be one of the ten best shooters in the NBA next season. That might even be underselling it - he shot 44.9% from deep on 4.5 attempts a game and a league-best 94% from the charity stripe on 134 free throws last season. Fortunately, I think the Hawks are well-equipped to match Spencer as a shooter. CJ McCollum actually had a down shooting season by his lofty standards after being traded to the Hawks (career-worst 35.7% from deep over 41 games) and has had an entire off-season to build chemistry and familiarity.

For a deeper cut, it'll be fun if Isaac McKneeley is able to challenge anyone for reps in the backcourt during preseason. McKneeley sealed a Summer League win over the Brooklyn Nets with a dagger three and generally showed off some useful abilities as a floor spacer earlier in the offseason.

How to Watch

Today's game will be shown at 7:00 p.m. ET on Atlanta News First/Peachtree TV.

Projected Starters

G - Dyson Daniels

G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G/F - CJ McCollum

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Onyeka Okongwu

Lineup Changes

I think McCollum will get first crack at the starting job since he's already been here, but Lu Dort will likely come off the bench as the sixth man. I expect CJ and Dort to both get starts during preseason in order for Snyder to assess who's starting on Opening Night.