OKC Thunder Preview: Can They Soar With the Hawks?

Early Rumblings is your ultimate OKC Thunder preview for tonight’s game. Things have taken yet another turn for the worse as starting center Enes Kanter limped off the floor in Wednesday’s win over Boston. He’s not expected back in the lineup – nor is Kevin Durant – when they face the surprising “Beast of the East”, the Atlanta Hawks. Much like last season’s Spurs, that moves the ball until they get the shot they want. And their deadly at. In one of the toughest challenges of the season, can the Thunder find a way to prevail?

Atlanta Hawks (53-15) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (38-30)

7:00 p.m. CST – Friday, March 20, 2015 – Chesapeake Energy Arena

Broadcast on FoxSports

STARTING LINEUP: OKC	STARTING LINEUP: ATL
Russell Westbrook	G	Jeff Teague	G
Andre Roberson	G	Kent Bazemore	G
Dion Waiters	F	DeMarre Carroll	F
Nick Collison	F	Paul Millsap	F
Steven Adams	C	Al Horford	C

Key Reserves

OKC Thunder: Dion Waiters, D.J. Augustin, Anthony Morrow, Nick Collison, Mitch McGary

Atlanta Hawks: Dennis Schroder, Pero Antic, Elton Brand, Shelvin Mack

Storm Alert – What to Look For in Today’s Game

Daily Reminder: The latest injury woes seem to have broken the Thunder faithful. And, while I don’t want to get on a soapbox here, despite how bleak this season has been, there’s no point in losing faith now when there’s still a chance for this team. Even if this season is all but over, supporting this team now proves you are truly a fan – it’s easy to band wagon when the team is healthy and looking like a title contender. Speech over – continue reading.

Biggest story: The Hawks’ style of play should be eerily familiar to Thunder fans, as they execute an offense similar to what we’ve seen from the San Antonio Spurs in recent years – swinging the ball perpetually until they get the quality shot they want. You could argue that Atlanta is lacking a “superstar” but the team is as cohesive as you can be and has a great distribution of talent and complementary skill sets. There are still doubters that Atlanta is a legitimate title contender (given their relative lack of experience) but those questions will remain unanswered until the playoffs begin in a few short weeks. For now, they’re one of the deadliest teams in the NBA.

Best matchup: Kanter’s ankle sprain puts that much more pressure on a front court that was already lacking a number of key players. Coach Scott Brooks will have to hope for the best and count on the combination of Adams/Collison/McGary – and that’s it – to limit Atlanta’s bigs. The challenge is staying out of foul trouble and limiting open perimeter looks. The Hawks can all shoot well from mid- to long-range, which isn’t easy to defend for OKC’s thinning front line.

Why you should watch: Aside from the reasons mentioned above? There isn’t really any other point in watching, unless it’s because you’re a truly dedicated fan or because you want to appreciate Atlanta’s effective style of play. But the truth is, that the Hawks were embarrassed the other night in a loss to Golden State and they’ll be looking for revenge. Even without their best shooter (Kyle Korver) on the floor, this team is playing at a very high level and they’re not going to take any pity on the Thunder. It could get ugly early but – and this is why you should watch – perhaps there’s a chance that Westbrook goes on an absolute tear and carries this team by dropping over 50 points and setting a new career-high. Well, it could happen…

Current trend: The Hawks are wrapping up a six-game road trip, having gone 3-2 so far in that stretch……In the loss to Golden State, Atlanta shot just 35.6 percent from the floor, their second-lowest rate this season…Westbrook will have to be at his most-efficient to give OKC a chance. He’s struggled with turnovers lately, averaging 7.5 over his last six games…Atlanta’s pass-happy system is working wonderfully, as they average 25.5 assists per game this season (the 2nd-best average, behind the Warriors’ 27.3 APG)…the Hawks force a lot of turnovers, averaging 15.5 per game (sixth-best in the league), while the Thunder have averaged 18.2 turnovers over their last six games.

History pattern: Millsap has averaged 22.7 points and 10 rebounds in his last three meeting with the Thunder…In 11 career games versus Atlanta, Westbrook has averaged 8.3 assists per game (his third-highest total). But his 18.1 points-per-game average is the third-lowest such mark.

"*Statistics are provided by ESPN.com or Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted"

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