Grizzlies-Hawks: Five observations

Kirk Hinrich entered the game in the second quarter – ahead of the second stint of Dennis Schroder – at backup point guard. Hinrich had appeared in just two games, a total of six minutes, for the Hawks since being acquired at the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 18. Schroder played just 3:16 before being pulled after going 0 of 2 from the field with two turnovers. According to the Hawks, Schroder was not injured. Hinrich played the final 4:38 of the second quarter, as the Hawks were making a big run, and had one assist, one rebound and was a plus-12. Hinrich was the first sub for Jeff Teague in the second half, entering with five minutes left in the third quarter.

2. Sefolosha strong

Thabo Sefolosha recorded his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. He had a pretty reverse dunk on a fast break to punctuate his solid performance.

3. Game of runs

The Grizzlies took a 31-19 lead in the second quarter with a 17-1 run. During the stretch, the Hawks went 6:13 without a field goal by shooting 0 of 10 with three turnovers. It was a game of runs. The Hawks answered by ending the half on a 30-10 run and took a 49-41 lead into intermission. During their run, the Hawks were 9 of 13 from the field with four 3-pointers. They started the game 1 of 11 from long-distance and finished the half 5 of 17. The Hawks ended up outscoring the Grizzlies 31-19 in the second.

4. Changing playbook

Every NBA team encounters injuries – but not like the Grizzlies of late. They played the Hawks with 10 healthy players. They were missing Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph (the three leading scorers), Vince Carter, Chris Andersen, Brandan Wright and Jordan Adams. D-League call-up Briante Weber made his NBA debut on Friday and the team added two other players to 10-day contracts Saturday. In addition, the team lost, and then waived, Mario Chalmers to a torn Achilles this week.

“I change (the playbook) every week,” Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said before the game. “It’s been awful. One week you think we can get this done. We’ve got and Mario (Chalmers) and (Chris Andersen), we’ll play some spread with Matt (Barnes) and Vince (Carter) at the 4. Then (Andersen) goes down. OK, we still have Zach (Randolph). Let’s pump it in there 72 times a game, control tempo and basically run football. Guys are trying to learn that. Then Mario is gone. It’s been interesting. Now, we’ll just give it to Lance (Stephenson) and get out of the way.”

5. Hawks milestones

Al Horford entered the game needing nine points to reach 1,000 for the season. He accomplished the milestone in the second quarter. Horford has five 1,000-point seasons in his career, including two consecutive years. Jeff Teague entered the game needing 14 points to reach 6,000 for his career. He hit the milestone on the number with a 3-pointer, his fourth of the game, to open the fourth quarter.