Hawks vs. Grizzlies Preview: Young and Morant Face Off For the First Time

Success is a relative term in the NBA, determined as much by expectations as on-court results. A three-game win streak could comprise an ordinary week or a momentous surge depending on where a team stands in the league and its aspirations for the season. It’s that framework that makes Monday night a significant opportunity for the Hawks, who have a chance to string together three wins for the first time all season. That’s a modest high-water mark, to be charitable, but nonetheless one Atlanta would like to reach.

The Hawks want to take that momentum somewhere, even if it isn’t into the postseason or even the general NBA discourse. They’ve won their last two games -- admittedly against subpar competition -- and played legitimately well in both contests. Unlike previous times it won consecutive games, Atlanta definitively outplayed its last two opponents, and Atlanta hasn’t achieved the kind of balance and ball movement it displayed on Friday and Saturday all season long. On Monday night, the Hawks will take on a shorthanded and inconsistent Memphis team that they are capable of beating if they sustain that level of play.

Game Time: Monday, March 2, 2020, 7:30 p.m. ET

Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA

TV: FOX Sports Southeast

Streaming: NBA League Pass, FOX Sports Go

Spread: Atlanta -2.0

For two months, the Grizzlies were perhaps the most pleasantly surprising team in the NBA as they surged into the Western Conference playoff race with a smart, competitive young team led by Rookie of the Year frontrunner Ja Morant. But while they still sit in eighth place, Memphis has stalled out since the All-Star break without two of its young big men. Jaren Jackson Jr. has missed the last four games with sprained knee while a quad injury has kept rookie Brandon Clarke out of the last three, and the Grizzlies are just one win in their last six tries. Memphis has other capable players to fill those minutes, but few are as skilled as Jackson and Clarke and none better fit the team’s up-tempo, pick-and-roll offense around Morant. The Grizzlies have pressed Jonas Valančiūnas, Josh Jackson, and Kyle Anderson into heavier duty lately, but it’s difficult to approximate what two central players provide.

Even without his two young teammates, Morant is one of the most electrifying point guards in the NBA and has posted one of the best rookie seasons from a point guard in recent memory. He is a highly creative passer and a nuclear athlete, which makes him a terrifying threat attacking downhill in the pick-and-roll. He’s just the sixth rookie since 2000 to post a usage rate over 25 and an assist rate over 30 (both Trae Young and Luka Dončić both reached those thresholds last year), and the Grizzlies have already put the infrastructure around him to optimize his skills and build a competitive team. Memphis has scored a modest 108.7 points per 100 possessions and generates over 39 percent of its shots at the rim with Morant on the floor -- a product of both ability to both get downhill and set up teammates for efficient looks.

The duel between Morant and Young could be among the most exciting head-to-head meetings between point guards this season (even if they aren’t the best point guards in the league). Both steer their respective offenses with flair and confidence, but differ in how they make their impact. Morant tends to force the issue going downhill, using his athleticism to pressure the rim, while Young prefers to stretch defenses as a shooter and put his craft to work as a way of overcoming his size.

Atlanta may have a slight upper hand going into Monday night given the direction in which each team is trending and the Grizzlies’ recent injury luck, but each team has enough strengths, warts, and incentive to win that neither should be heavily favored in what should be a fun, competitive game.