Hours before Atlanta's game against Memphis, Yahoo! Sports reported that free agent Kenyon Martin was visiting with the Hawks. The veteran big man – last seen stateside scowling and prowling the paint for the Denver Nuggets before a short stint in China during the NBA lockout – is said to be intrigued with the significant role he could play with the Hawks.
The Hawks could always use another big body, but the need is more acute this year with Al Horford out for the regular season. The Hawks big man vacuum got even more cavernous in the first quarter of Thursday's 96-77 loss to the Grizzlies when Jason Collins left the game with a strained elbow and didn't return.
Collins is the big 7-footer that comes in handy when Atlanta faces squads specifically like Memphis (Collins started during last season's Playoff series against Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic). The Grizzlies – without its own All Star big, Zach Randolph – trot out Marc Gasol, Pau's baby brother. But even more than his older brother, Memphis' Gasol is a load down low and a skilled one at that. When it's left to tough, but undersized, guys like Zaza Pachulia and Ivan Johnson to wrestle with a bear like Gasol and protect the paint against Memphis' constantly aggressive perimeter basket-attackers, things can get ugly quick.
And that's exactly what transpired. There were portions of the second quarter when poor Josh Smith was tasked with Gasol, which is when the Grizzlies went on a 20-10 run to close with a 53-43 lead at halftime. Things just got worse in the second half.
"They were just too big for us on the inside," said Hawks coach Larry Drew. "It hurt losing (Collins)."
The game highlighted what ails Atlanta and what emboldens Memphis. Atlanta has always been small and, depending on the severity of Collins injury, just got really small. Memphis is a tough, scrappy defensive team with a competitive streak.
"That team just manhandled us," said Drew. "They played with physicality and we were a step slow on everything we did...teams that scrap like that, you have to match their physicality. If you don't, you're going to be in for a long night, which we were."
The Grizzlies outrebounded the Hawks 49-36 and scored 58 points in the paint. They sensed some fragility from Atlanta down there and didn't stop attacking. At one point in the second quarter, after Rudy Gay sped into the lane, flew to the bucket and violently dunked, the nearby Smith just threw up his arms in defeat.
"We knew they were a little small in the front court," said Memphis point guard Mike Conley, who dropped in his share of floaters and layups in Atlanta's uninhabited paint. "We wanted to get penetration in there and get it to our big fella, Marc, and try to use it to our advantage all night."
Then, to make matters worse, Memphis made life miserable for the Hawks on the other end. Tony Allen, the team's loudest player and dominant personality scored 18 points, all seemingly on reckless drives to the bucket. But his most valuable contribution was hounding Joe Johnson into a 4-10 shooting night – and when Johnson struggles, to that degree, it's almost impossible for the Hawks to win. That was Allen's master plan. He talks a lot about "always going hard" and "hanging on our hats on defense."
"When I'm out there with my guys, my focus is us getting stops. I ain't got no choice but to play hard. I can't come out there lollygagging," said Allen. "When Joe has the ball he's a threat. I just tried to harass him and make it a tough shot every time and I think I did that."
If you look at both teams' records, it would seem that Atlanta is faring better without Horford than Memphis without Randolph. The Hawks are just one loss behind conference leader Chicago, while Memphis is just two games above .500 and, if the season ended today, right on the outside of Playoffs. But the Hawks' seven losses have come against Playoff squads, while they get their wins feasting on the NBA's weak. Memphis, meanwhile, endures the treachery of the always deep Western Conference. With back-to-back wins over Playoff teams (Denver, then Atlanta), the Grizzlies' sixth man O.J. Mayo (recently ratcheting up his production) likes where his team is headed.
"We're back on track," said Mayo. "We're playing really good right now. We're playing to win. You can feel the vibe. It's a good feeling out there."
Memphis gets Randolph back in March. Atlanta likely won't get Horford back unless they reached the postseason, so Collins injury is something they really can't afford. Enter…perhaps, maybe Martin?
After the game, Martin was seen exiting the Hawks locker room. The NBA has cleared him to sign with a team and he has several suitors. No team, however, probably needs as much as Atlanta – the Grizzlies proved as much.
