National Basketball Association

Preseason Opener Preview: Atlanta Hawks vs Memphis Grizzlies

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The NBA season is approaching, and the Atlanta Hawks start their preseason later on tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies. Here at Soaring Down South, we offer you a preview of the matchup.

The preseason starts tonight, Atlanta Hawks fans! The moment you’ve all been waiting for, is here. The Atlanta Hawks will go toe-to-toe with the Memphis Grizzlies tonight in the FedExForum at 8:00 pm. The Atlanta Hawks are back in action and they look a little different from the last time they played the Grizzlies. Of course, the Hawks no longer have Jeff Teague and Al Horford. Dennis Schroeder is now the starting the point guard. Superman (Dwight Howard) has landed in Atlanta and they’ve added some rookies that are expected to contribute right away.

The Grizzlies have also shaken things up a bit, too. They have a new coach in David Fizdale, a few rookies, and for the first time Zach Randolph will be coming off the bench. The Grizzlies have already played in a preseason game against the Orlando Magic in which they won, 102-97. Rookie Wade Baldwin and sophomore Andrew Harrison had great games. Baldwin led the team in points with 15 and Harrison had 11 points and 6 assists. The last time the Grizzlies and Atlanta met was in March when the Hawks won 95-83. As noted earlier, much has changed since then and the Grizzlies aren’t pushovers.

Don’t expect to see any crazy numbers from the starters; tonight’ game will be mostly for the rookies and reserves to show what they can bring to the table. After the first half, the starters will most likely be on the bench watching along with the rest of us. Obviously, coach MIke Budenholzer and Fizdale wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt before the regular season.

Paul Millsap, Tiago Splitter, and Jarrett Jack will not be playing in tonight’s exhibition game.

All stats used were obtained from SB Nation.com