The Detroit Pistons were really struggling prior to Thursday night’s game, as Stan Van Gundy and company had lost seven straight tilts. Of course, the Pistons “got healthy” in a comfortable win over the Atlanta Hawks and, on Friday evening, the Hawks will be aiming to stop the Memphis Grizzlies from achieving similar success after futility.

At the moment, the Grizzlies are playing the worst basketball in the league. Memphis has a comically poor 1-16 record since mid-November and, in the absence of Mike Conley, the team has fallen apart including the loss of a head coach in David Fizdale.

With that said, the home team had Thursday off in this spot while Atlanta is forced to travel. That scenario combines to install Memphis as a small home favorite in this game (both in Las Vegas and according to various projection systems) and that paints something of a worrisome picture for Hawks fans seeking a bounce-back after three consecutive losses.

In terms of match-up, the Grizzlies do not present a ton of overly difficult individual face-offs, especially with John Collins returning to match up against Marc Gasol. Given Conley’s absence, Memphis simply does not have a ton of offensive firepower and, if anything, this could be a grind-it-out type of atmosphere on the floor with both teams desperate to snap losing skids.

Regardless, we’ll be here to cover it all and you can stay tuned throughout the afternoon and evening for all the festivities.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Friday, December 15, 8:00 p.m. ET

Location: FedEx Forum

TV: Fox Sports Southeast, Fox Sports Go, NBA League Pass

Radio: 92.9 The Game (Atlanta)