Much to the surprise of many NBA teams and fans, the Atlanta Hawks currently sit in the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference, something that has not happened since the 1993-94 season when they captured the division title. However, here the team is having gone 19-2 since Thanksgiving while coming off a five-game win streak against Western Conference teams putting them an NBA-best 9-2 against that part of the league. They will put that record to the test on Wednesday night as the Memphis Grizzlies come to town looking to kill the momentum.
The Hawks are currently firing on both sides of the ball coming off a trip that included wins over Utah, Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers. While they are thriving on offense thanks to Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver, their defense is currently allowing just 97.6 points per game. They are also ranking third in the league with 25.3 assists per night. Korver is sitting at second in the league with a 51.3 percent 3-point shooting average.
This game will be a battle of the point guards between Mike Conley and Teague who are both Indianapolis natives. Teague is currently averaging 23.2 points and 8.2 assists during the five-game win streak after he was out with hamstring issues. He is helping the Hawks rank to so high in assists as he puts up 11.5 per night. He is coming off a game where he had 20 points and nine assists on Monday's win over the Clippers.
The Memphis Grizzlies will certainly be one of the tougher challenges for the Hawks as they too are excelling on both ends of the court. The team ranks second with 47.1 points in the pain per night, while Courtney Lee is very capable from beyond the arc shooting 50.0 percent. Last season the Grizzlies swept the Hawks in their two meetings as Zach Randolph put up 38 points. He is out with a knee injury and is not expected to play.