Hawks vs Thunder: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineup for Tonight's Matchup

A six-game losing streak for the Atlanta Hawks might extend to seven if they can't upset the reigning NBA Champions tonight.

Oct 27, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) drives to the basket around Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks are back in action tonight and they need a win in the worst way.

After a terrible offensive performance against the Miami Heat, the Hawks almost knocked off the New York Knicks. However, they came up three points short after being down by 18 points at one point. They deserve credit for their incredible effort, but the reality is that they've lost six straight games. The effort needs to start translating into wins before the Hawks end up in a position that they cannot recover from.

The path towards snapping this streak isn't going to be easy tonight. Even if the Hawks were fully healthy, the OKC Thunder are a juggernaut. They just won the Finals last season and their recent dissapointing streak doesn't take away from the fact that they still have arguably the best roster in the NBA. It's therefore worrying that Atlanta is limping into this matchup.

All-NBA candidate Jalen Johnson has already been ruled out with illness. Trae Young might also miss the game while recovering from a right knee contusion. That sets up a scenario where the Hawks will be down their top two scorers on the road against the team with the best record in the NBA. This is going to be their toughest test of the season so far.

By the Numbers

Oct 25, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) goes to the basket between Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and center Chet Holmgren (7) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Hawks did a better job of finding cohesion on offense in their most recent game against New York, but they cannot afford to draw dead for large stretches of the game like they did against the Knicks. They are 11th in points, 7th in FG%, 5th in 3P%, 14th in FT%, 25th in rebounds (27th in OREB, 22nd in DREB), 1st in assists, and 18th in turnovers per game. They're 15th in offensive rating this year.

As has been the case for practically the entire season, the Hawks defense has been the limiting factor for their performance. The defense ranks 24th in points allowed, 22nd in FG% allowed, 15th in 3P% allowed, 25th in rebounds allowed, 8th in steals, and 15th in blocks. They're 19th in defensive rating on the year.

The Thunder haven't been playing their best basketball as of late, but they are still a terrifying two-way team that has an argument for the best team in the NBA. They are 2nd in points, 3rd in FG%, 6th in 3P%, 2nd in FT%, 15th in rebounds (29th in OREB and 1st in DREB), 18th in assists, and 2nd in turnovers. They are 6th in offensive rating.

Their defense is the best in basketball. OKC is 1st in PPG allowed, 1st in FG% allowed, 23rd in 3P% allowed, 14th in rebounds allowed, 2nd in steals and 8th in blocks. They are 1st in defensive rating this season.

Three Reasons The Hawks Can Win This Game

Oct 25, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) is fouled by Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

One of the few weaknesses that the Thunder have is that they struggle to generate offense in the halfcourt setting. They don't have a ton of reliable ball-handlers outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and that's made them very reliant on second-year guard Ajay Mitchell. Mitchell is currently day-to-day and left the fourth quarter with an ankle issue in the fourth quarter of OKC's blowout win over the 76ers. They're coming off a back-to-back, so it's unclear as to whether Mitchell will suit up. However, if he misses the game, the Thunder will be starved for ball-handling in the minutes where SGA hits the bench. His absence would also remove one of the Thunder's best perimeter defenders from factoring into this game.

This is a massive game for Atlanta to show some improvement on the glass. The Knicks got 8 offensive rebounds in one first quarter, which is embarrassingly bad. Despite all their strengths, the Thunder actually aren't that great at generating second-chance points. The Hawks are 23rd in second chance points, but the Thunder are all the way down at 28th. This is going to be the type of game where Atlanta will have to out-hustle the other team in order to stay alive - getting more offensive boards is an excellent way to do that.

One player to watch given the increased opportunity is Dyson Daniels. Daniels still hasn't quite got his shot going, but the defense remains excellent and his playmaking has continued to take steps forward. He's averaging a career-high 5.7 assists per game on only 2.3 turnovers a night. That's good for an AST% of 21.6%, which is in the 96th percentile among all wings. The combination of him and a healthy Nickeil Alexander-Walker gives Atlanta two ball-handlers who can get things sorted on offense despite the Hawks being without Johnson and Young. On defense, Daniels does about as well as can be expected against Shai. In the 148 possessions he's guarded Shai this season, he's held the MVP contender to 19.8 points and 5.6 assists on 51.5 TS% per 75 possessions.

Three Reasons The Hawks Might Not Win This Game

Oct 25, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) dribbles against Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

While the Hawks have only one true center on the roster in Onyeka Okongwu, the Thunder have two excellent ones in Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren. Hartenstein is absolutely critical for OKC's rebounding - their OREB% goes up by 10.7% in his minutes. Holmgren is their defensive anchor and the Thunder give up 3.1 fewer points per 100 possessions when he's on the court. He is coming off a team-leading 29 points, nine assists and four blocks versus the 76ers where he absolutely dominated a fellow seven-footer in Andre Drummond. Onyeka Okongwu and Mo Gueye are certainly going to have their work cut out for them.

Atlanta's bench and depth started the season off well, but the recent stretch of losses has taken its toll on their rankings league-wide. The Hawks' bench has the 18th best box plus-minus leaguewide and while they do have the second-best 3P% in basketball, they're just 18th in overall points per game. Furthermore, they have the worst bench rebounding unit in the NBA. Simply put, they'll need to play at their absolute best if they want a chance at knocking off OKC.

While the Hawks excel at converting turnovers into points, there is nobody who does that better than OKC. Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Mitchell and even Shai himself do a ton of work on the perimeter and turn teams over with regularity. It's why they're 1st in points off turnovers and that abundance of defensive options is going to be a tough factor for a Hawks team missing its two best offensive players to overcome.

Injury Report

Jalen Johnson, Kristaps Porzingis and N'Faly Dante are all out while Trae Young is questionable.

For the Thunder, Ajay Mitchell, Isaiah Hartenstein and Isaiah Joe are all questionable.

How to Watch

Here is how you can watch tonight's game:

Tip-off time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK

Where to Watch: FanDuel Sports Network and NBATV

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks

G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Mo Gueye

C - Onyeka Okongwu

Thunder

G- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

G- Jalen Williams

F- Lu Dort

F- Chet Holmgren

C- Isaiah Hartenstein