Thunder Gameday: Coming into Atlanta with Momentum
Entering tonight’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Atlanta Hawks, both teams are riding two-game winning streaks.
These have been fueled by young, electric guards as Trae Young and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can score the ball at will. Those two going head-to-head tonight will be exciting for fans across the world.
Which team will keep their streak alive tonight and win their third consecutive contest?
Bryan Terry / The Oklahoman-Imagn Content Services, LLC
ODDS:
The Thunder enter the day as 5.5-point underdogs to the Hawks, and the total over/under is 231.5 points.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
Again, Gilgeous-Alexander and Young are both lethal scorers, but get it done in different ways. For the Thunder, SGA leads the NBA in drives and does most of his damage inside the arc. Young does quite the opposite for Atlanta, torching opposing defenses from deep, three points at a time.
Alongside Young in the backcourt is newly acquired Dejounte Murray, who has been great for the Hawks this year. They make up one of the better guard duos in the league.
Surprisingly enough given the way Young scores the ball, the Hawks are bottom five in the league in both 3-point attempts and efficiency. This is part of the reason the Atlanta offense hasn’t been great this season.
On the flip side, the Hawks turn the ball over the second fewest times of any team in the NBA which makes it hard for opposing teams to capitalize on mistakes.
As underwhelming as the Atlanta offense has been this season, its defense is top ten in the league. With Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu in the paint, they protect the rim and also rebound well.
In fact, both teams taking the floor tonight are top ten in the NBA in boards per game.
Rookies will play a key part in tonight’s contest as AJ Griffin has been playing well for the Hawks, but so has Jalen Williams for the Thunder.
RECORDS:
Oklahoma City Thunder (10-13) vs. Atlanta Hawks (13-10)
WHEN:
Monday, Dec. 5, 2022 at 6:30 PM CT
LOCATION:
State Farm Arena - Atlanta, GA
TV/RADIO:
Bally Sports Oklahoma, NBA League Pass, 98.1 FM The Sports Animal
FINAL WORD:
Following this matchup, the Thunder will continue the road trip as they head to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies on Wednesday.
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