Atlanta Hawks vs Memphis Grizzlies: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups for Today's Matchup

The Hawks are currently in the midst of arguably the worst stretch they've played thus far as they extend their losing streak to four games.

Oct 11, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) drives to the basket during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks had an excellent opportunity to get back on track and snap a three-game losing streak against an extremely beatable Bucks team. Instead, they went down 54-38 to them at halftime. Even so, they tried to mount a comeback and a second-half surge from Nickeil Alexander-Walker gave them a chance at it with a one-point deficit and 12 seconds to play. Unfortunately, CJ McCollum wasn't able to get a good look off, and they squandered an excellent chance to steal a win.

In reality, the Hawks didn't play well enough to win that game and it's symptomatic of the poor stretch Atlanta has been on recently. They got a good game from Jalen Johnson (28 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists) and a great game from Nickeil Alexander-Walker (32 points, six rebounds, and six assists). However, they got a combined 23 points from their other three starters and shot 28.6% from deep as a team while letting the Bucks shoot 44.4% from deep.

They have another good opportunity to get a win against the Grizzlies, but they need to figure out their issues on both ends of the court sooner rather than later. They are currently five games below .500 and 10th in a fairly mediocre Eastern Conference. If they can get back into the top seed of the play-in before the All-Star Break, that would set Atlanta up for a good shot at making the postseason as a top-six seed for the first time since the 2020-21 season.

By the Numbers

Oct 11, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) drives to the basket as Memphis Grizzlies guard Ty Jerome (2) defends during the first quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Unsurprisingly, Atlanta's inability to muster enough points to get within a double-digit margin at halftime didn't bode well for their numbers on offense. They are 10th in points, 10th in FG%, 10th in 3P%, 21st in FT%, 25th in rebounds (25th in OREB, 18th in DREB), 1st in assists, and 16th in turnovers per game. However, they're 22nd in offensive rating this year, which indicates the offense isn't playing as well as some of the surface-level numbers would suggest.

Atlanta's defense continues to be a rough watch for most of the season, and the numbers bear that out. They rank 25th in points allowed, 23rd in FG% allowed, 15th in 3P% allowed, 26th in rebounds allowed, 5th in steals, and 16th in blocks. They're 16th in defensive rating this year.

Memphis has dealt with some difficulties in getting Ja Morant to buy into this team, and the lack of overall cohesion on offense has been apparent. They're 20th in points, 26th in FG%, 22nd in 3P%, 11th in FT%, 4th in rebounds (13th in OREB, 5th in DREB), 5th in assists, and 22nd in turnovers per game. Unsurprisingly, they're 24th in offensive rating this year.

The Grizzlies are the definition of a thoroughly average defense. They rank 16th in points allowed, 7th in FG% allowed, 13th in 3P% allowed, 19th in rebounds allowed, 22nd in steals, and 13th in blocks. They're 13th in defensive rating this year.

Three Reasons the Hawks Can Win This Game

Mar 8, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Wenyen Gabriel (32) defends Atlanta Hawks guard Vit Krejci (27) during the second half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Nickeil Alexander-Walker was absolutely electric against the Bucks by scoring 32 points and seven threes. However, he was especially good down the stretch. NAW's ability to take over games in the clutch for the Hawks has been consistently excellent, and he's earned the trust to be a big part of the offense down the stretch. Relative to the rest of the NBA, the Hawks shoot quite well as a team in the second half. They are 8th in points and 4th in the NBA for 3P% during the second half, while Memphis is 19th in 3P% during the same range. The Grizzlies aren't necessarily built to trade shots with a good clutch offense down the stretch, and the Hawks should be better equipped to do so.

While the defense has been largely horrible for the Hawks throughout the year, the second-half defensive effort deserves a lot of praise. Milwaukee only took nine attempts from the field in the third quarter, which speaks to the level of communication and togetherness the Hawks showed on defense against the Bucks during the second half. They have trouble with sustaining that effort throughout the whole game, but there are clear flashes where the defensive vision for this Hawks roster is obvious.

After an absolutely brutal stretch of games, Jalen Johnson looked much closer to his normal self against the Bucks. He almost had a triple-double with 28 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists while making three of his attempts from deep. It broke a three-game streak of finishing with under 20 points for Johnson and tonight should be an exciting matchup to watch for him. Santi Aldama isn't much of a defender, but it'll be very interesting to see how Johnson handles a difficult Jaren Jackson Jr matchup.

Three Reasons the Hawks Might Lose This Game

Oct 11, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Cam Spencer (24) collects a rebound over Atlanta Hawks guard Luke Kennard (3) during the second quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

While a lot has been made about how bad CJ McCollum has been for the Hawks, Corey Kispert hasn't been a banner acquisition for Atlanta, either. The Hawks have a net rating of -5.3 in the 72 minutes that Kispert has been on the court. It's a small sample size, but Kispert also wasn't particularly great as a starter against a terrible Bucks defense. It's fair to wonder if both he and McCollum should be coming purely off the bench from now on, and it could hurt them against Memphis if both are in the starting lineup.

Speaking of the bench, Memphis has one of the best second units in the league due to its depth and versatility. Cam Spencer has been one of the best shooters in the NBA this season and he's shooting 46% on a ludicrous five attempts a game. John Konchar is an underrated bench guard who has an elite STL% of 3.2% and a 17.2 DREB%, both of which are in the 98th percentile or better. However, the real prize might be GG Jackson. Jackson is starting to look like the player who popped for Memphis during their injury-riddled season - he is shooting 52% on corner threes, 53% on midrange shots, and 78% at the rim, albeit on limited volume. He also draws contact at an above-average rate, and the Grizzlies are a stunning 9.6 points better per 100 possessions with him on the floor.

After a pretty solid rebounding effort against Milwaukee, the Hawks need to show that same effort against an excellent Memphis rebounding team. JJJ isn't a very good rebounder, but the rest of Memphis' roster fights for extra possessions and they have a top-10 REB% for both offensive and defensive rebounding. The Hawks have struggled against good rebounding teams all year, so this is going to be a big test for them.

Injury Report

Kristaps Porzingis and Zaccharie Risacher are both out.

For Memphis, Scotty Pippen Jr, Zach Edey, Ty Jerome and Brandon Clarke are all out while Santi Aldama is questionable.

How to Watch

Here is how you can watch tonight's game:

Tip-off time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks

G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Corey Kispert

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Onyeka Okongwu

Grizzlies

G - Ja Morant

G - Cedric Coward

F- Jaylen Wells

F- Santi Aldama

C- Jaren Jackson Jr