Atlanta @ Memphis preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 5, 2018 ) Atlanta 110, Memphis 120

It was only one game and by all measures a subpar performance, but the Memphis Grizzlies look toward Friday’s home opener against the Atlanta Hawks anxious to bounce back from an opening-night defeat at Indiana. The Grizzlies trailed by 10 points early, were down 24 in the second quarter, shot only 29.8 percent from the field and gave up 57 rebounds in a 111-83 loss, an outing that left coach J.B. Bickerstaff vowing a better showing is coming.

“We are a much better basketball team than we showed tonight,” Bickerstaff told reporters after his first game as Memphis coach, following two interim stints. “We still believe that, and we’ve just got to be better all around.” The same can be said for the Hawks, who gave up 49 points in the second quarter of a 126-107 loss at New York in their opener. Atlanta’s young squad committed 24 turnovers, four by first-round draft pick Trae Young, who scored 14 points with six rebounds and five assists in his NBA debut. “Definitely, some things that we haven’t been doing coming from preseason,” Young told the media afterward. “But this is just one game, so I am not too worried.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Southeast

ABOUT THE HAWKS (0-1): Forward Taurean Prince scored a team-high 21 points for Atlanta, which missed forward John Collins (ankle injury) and had no answer as the Knicks hit eight shots in a row from the field early in the second quarter. Guard Vince Carter, the 41-year-old who became the second-oldest opening-night starter in NBA history, finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field. Atlanta outscored the Knicks in three quarters, but gave up as many points in the second quarter (49) as it scored in the entire first half.

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (0-1): One positive sign for Memphis was point guard Mike Conley. who missed 70 games a season ago with a left heel injury, scoring 11 points with three assists and one steal in 29 minutes against Indiana. Center Marc Gasol scored a team-high 13 points and added six rebounds in the opener, and rookie forward Jaren Jackson Jr. added 10 points in his NBA debut. Memphis was outrebounded 67-39 and were limited by too few second-chance opportunities.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Atlanta’s two other first-round picks -- F Omari Spellman and G Kevin Huerter -- combined to score seven points with six rebounds in 13 minutes of mop-up time.

2. Memphis shot 9-of-41 from the field in the first half and trailed 56-39 at the break.

3. Each team won on its home floor during last season’s two meetings as Atlanta G Kent Bazemore scoring 14.5 points per game and Gasol averaging 10.5 points and six rebounds.

PREDICTION: Grizzlies 103, Hawks 98