A "Must-win"?

The last time the Grizzlies played the Hawks, they were coming off a tough 5-point home loss to the Celtics. At that time, the Grizz had yet to win on the second night of a back-to-back, and the trip to Atlanta didn't change things. Memphis stayed in the game for the first half, but lacked energy after halftime, allowing the Hawks to put things away early. Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph on the bench with 10 minutes to play can either be a really good, or really bad sign...in this case, it was bad. Sam Young played well in garbage time, but there really wasn't a bright take away from ATL.
This time around, the stakes are high. I'm going to go ahead and say it, so brace yourself: tomorrow night is a must-win.

Here is why:

Let's be honest, the Grizzlies are in a slump. Six games over .500 has become 2 games, and the Grizz now stand 2.5 games out in the Western Conference playoff standings. For whatever reason, Memphis has not been able to play consistent basketball since Z-Bo was voted to the All-Star game, and with the Mid-Winter Classic coming up in Dallas next week, the Grizz are in desperate need of a momentum and confidence booster. Beat the Hawks, and you're back to 3-over. Win the game, and you add another victory over an upper-echelon opponent. Win the game, and leave a good taste in the home crowd's mouth heading into a 6-day break. Win the game, and you start over for the stretch run.

They call the Saturday of a major golf tournament "Moving day", and tomorrow night starts a "moving period" for the Memphis Grizzlies. If this team is going to be in contention for the playoffs in April, they have to make a push.

That push has to start tomorrow night.