Atlanta Hawks Win in Larry Drew’s coaching debut against the Memphis Grizzlies
The Atlanta Hawks did not let their new head coach down as they posted an impressive 119-104 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies in their season opener and Larry Drew’s coaching debut on
Wednesday night 27 Oct.
Joe Johnson, who opted to sign a new deal with Hawks during the off-season, led Atlanta’s attack with his 22 points, while Zaza Pachulia provided the spark from the bench with his 17 points
and 11 rebounds.
Drew, who was named as the team’s head coach after firing Mike Woodson, had a big smile on his face after the final buzzer sounded, and admitted that he has been very nervous about his coaching
debut for a long time.
"It's huge. I've been thinking about this for a long time. This is my first win. I've got to enjoy it," said Drew, who also praised his second unit after outscoring Memphis’ bench, 50-28.
"The bench just did a tremendous job. That's just the way we have to play. We have to play with energy. We have to fly around," he said.
Johnson, the team’s primary scoring option, was all praise about the new system Drew implemented because it’s giving them a lot of wide-open scoring opportunities.
"With the offense coach Drew has put in, I got so many wide-open looks," Johnson said. "I just didn't make a lot of shots, but I was able to get to the line and kind of make up for it. At
times, I was a little bit too excited. But I'm not worried about that.”
The Hawks led by as much as 20 points, 111-91, in the final period after Johnson hit a three-pointer. Memphis manage to trim the lead down to 13, but Johnson and veteran point guard Mike
Bibby halted the Grizzlies’ comeback attempt for their first win of the season.
"We were very poised out there on the road, and we made plays when we needed to," Johnson said. "We knew we had to come out and try and hit first. They were at home and trying to feed off
their crowd."
Mike Conley had 23 points and eight assists, while Rudy g*y added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis, who played without starting centre Marc Gasol, who missed the game with a sprained
left ankle.
The Grizzlies absorbed another blow to their frontline, when Zach Randolph sustained a lower back injury after a bad fall in the opening period.
The 29-year old power forward returned to the game, but he was clearly affected by his ailing back, which prompted head coach Lionel Hollins to bench him for the rest of the game.
"I'm very sore," Randolph said. "I just have to see how it feels tomorrow, get some treatment. I'm going to come back when I'm 100 percent.”
The Grizzlies, who dropped their season-opener for the ninth time in 10 years, will try to bounce back against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, but will likely play without Gasol again.
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