Picking Up the Pieces

After seeing their lead slip away in the second half of Saturday night's devastating loss to Oklahoma City, the Memphis Grizzlies face their toughest mental task of the season Wednesday in Atlanta. It may not be significant in the long run, but for the sake of the team's psyche, this game is huge. They let a golden opportunity get away from them against the Thunder, and they must come out tonight and show that they have put that performance behind them

Instead of looking at what they didn't do against the Thunder, they have to look at what they need to do against the Hawks to be successful.  They need to relax and not let their circumstances affect their play on the court.  They should take the season one game at a time and just try to win tonight's game instead of thinking of their current slump.

They need to play within their capabilities.  Pressing and trying to do too much is only going to lead to mistakes.  They need to let the game come to them and regain their self-confidence.  The same is especially true for Rudy Gay, who seems to be struggling the most right now.  He needs to have a good game to remind himself of how good he can be.  Once he has a breakout night, I think he will get back to his usual form.

With Gay struggling, it is critical that Marc Gasol and others step up offensively in support of O.J. Mayo.  The team has to get off to a good start and continue to shoot above 50 percent.  Most importantly, the defense has to improve.  If the Grizzlies had played better defense over the past few games, they might be working on a win streak.  As well as they have been shooting as a group, the defense is all that is missing.

Defense is the key for the Hawks as well.  They are allowing an average of 97.1 ppg while scoring 98.3 themselves.  Since starting the season 6-0, they have lost 6 of 10.  They feature an explosive scorer in Joe Johnson and an emerging post star in Josh Smith. Seven players average at least 10 points per game for the Hawks, led by Johnson's 22.7.