Instant Takeaways From Atlanta's Summer League Victory Against Memphis

Tonight, the Atlanta Hawks finished their back-to-back in Summer League play against the Memphis Grizzlies. Again, the Hawks walked away victorious with a dominant win, in which they proved to be clicking on both ends of the court to start, compared to their first two games.

However, both teams sat their lottery draft picks in this one, but that didn't stop the game from being very competitive all the way through. The Hawks would go up by double digits in the second half, and Memphis would respond with some offense of their own; it wasn't enough to close the deal, as the Hawks won this one by double digits.

Let's take a look at some of the takeaways from this one.

1. The Hawks finally figured things out

For the first time in three games, Atlanta got things going from the start, which led to them closing things out comfortably. In the first two games, Atlanta couldn't get much going and fell behind before coming back to win one and losing the first game.

Tonight, however, the Hawks had things going from three-point range, which had been a struggle before. Also, Atlanta was red-hot from the field, finishing the first quarter at 57% from the field and 56% from three-point range while building a 13-point lead.

2. Atlanta's defense slowed things down

In this game, Atlanta's defense made Memphis play more iso style basketball and forced them into tough shots. Throughout the game, Atlanta emphasized forcing the Grizzlies into bad turnovers, as Memphis finished with 12 first-half turnovers and shot a terrible 37% from the field.

In the second half, Memphis responded with strong shooting from three as they cut things close in the third quarter. However, that proved not to be enough, as the Hawks would make things tough for Memphis later in the game, as they ended the night with 19 turnovers and 37% shooting from the field.

3. Devin Higgins and Henri Veesaar balls out

The players who really stood out for Atlanta tonight were Higgins and Veesaar, as they contributed well on both ends of the court. In the first half, Veesaar finished with eight points, two rebounds, and made two three-pointers. To end the game, finished with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block.

What made Veesaar's game stand out besides the box score was how well he protected the basket, as he was able to force Memphis into tough shots. I would like to see some improvement in terms of crashing the glass, as he is a seven-footer who only finished with five rebounds.

Higgins, however, led the Hawks in scoring in this one as he finished the night with an unforced 22 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. Higgins' ability to get easy buckets inside the paint, force the fast break, and play some aggressive defense helped Atlanta close the fourth quarter with a victory.

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