OKC Thunder finish road trip vs. home sizzling Hawks – preview
Key matchups:
The obvious player to focus on is Trae Young as it’s the Atlanta point guard that gets his team rolling. Whether he’s driving and dishing, throwing lobs up for John Collins or Clint Capela or hitting logo 3-pointers he is the catalyst of this squad.
As great as the former Oklahoma College (and Norman, Oklahoma High School) alum is on offense finding him on defense is a key for opponents.
Teams look to exploit Young particularly in pick and roll defense where the guard struggles. As Kirk Goldsberry noted in his recent ESPN article:
"Opponents love to attack Young in the pick-and-roll for good reason. Whether he’s defending the action with Clint Capela or with John Collins, the results haven’t been great. Out of 50 players who have defended the ball handler in at least 500 pick-and-roll actions this season, Young ranks 49th, allowing 1.11 points per chance on those plays."
The Warriors used a box and one on Young in the second half of their recent match. Kerr no doubt pulled that trick out of the book from the playoffs when the Raptors used it on Curry.
Young feasted in the first half scoring 21 points and dishing seven dimes leading the Hawks to 65 points. But once Golden State employed the new defense the game shifted. Atlanta scored only 48 points after the break with Young registering seven points and two assists and the Dubs winning 127-113.
I’m excited to see how Josh Giddey’s height impacts Young although it’s likely Luguentz Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander draw more possessions on the talented guard.
Another key for the Thunder will be dealing with the Hawks two big men Collins and Capela who each are capable of delivering double-double efforts in the same game.
The Thunder frontcourt isn’t gigantic with Derrick Favors, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and Mike Muscala (plus occasionally Isaiah Roby) playing the center position while Darius Bazley is typically tasked with guarding the opponent power forwards.
OKC will give as good as they get on the glass so this could very well come down to boxing out, effort, and ultimately desire.