ATLANTA – At this point in the season, every win matters for the Atlanta Hawks. It doesn't matter who has been in front of them in the month of March, but for the most part, they've been able to take care of business and try to give themselves a chance to make the playoffs.
This time around, it was the Memphis Grizzlies on the schedule, whom they defeated 146-107. The Grizzlies have dealt with a lot of injuries and roster turnover during the season, and despite them coming into the game with a 24-46 record, they're still competing.
For the Hawks, the task was simple, and it was to take care of business as always.
“As a group, we’ve been professional,” Nickeil Alexander-Walker said. “That’s what it’s been about, doing your job. It doesn’t matter who they put out in front of you. We were very conscious of who we were playing against tonight.”
“At the end of the day, these are the 450 best players in the world, and the Grizzlies are dealing with a lot of injuries,” Onyeka Okongwu said. “A lot of guys in and out of the lineups, so those guys are just getting opportunities. They’re all just playing hard, and you gotta respect it. We still gotta do what we do and take care of business at the end of the day.”
The Hawks threw the first punch to start the game, and they kept hitting until the clock hit zero. Whether it was Alexander-Walker's 26 points, Zaccharie Risacher's team-high eight rebounds, or CJ McCollum's nine assists, they did all they could to get the win, and the Hawks treated this game just like any other.
“One thing I learned is if you lose to a team like that, it’s bad. If you beat a team like that, it’s ‘You’re supposed to,’” Alexander-Walker said. “You don’t really win in that situation. You kind of have to drown out the noise, and you have to be professional.
“It’s my job to play the game, it’s my job to play hard, and it’s my job to try and win and do what I need to do for the team. Everyone showed up tonight to do that, and I think that’s been the one consistent thing that has shown over time.”
The maturity of this team has been talked about a lot recently, and it's shown over the past month or so. They've stuck to the game plan and are approaching every night with the same mentality.
“I think it’s a collective thing where guys are just putting the team first,” Quin Snyder said. “That’s got to be our focus, and when it is, we’re crashing the offensive glass, we’re sharing the ball, getting in the lane, breaking the paint. The focus on the defense, I think, is the most important thing. When you see everybody bought into that, that says a lot about the guys in our locker room.”
Things don't get easier for the Hawks in their next few games, as they face the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics, the two top teams in the Eastern Conference. They know the importance of those games, but as long as they keep doing what they've been doing over the course of this month, they'll give themselves a chance to win.
