Three intriguing storylines as OKC Thunder host Atlanta Hawks

It’s been a pretty heady time for the OKC Thunder with the team performing above expectations. Well, perhaps not Thunder Nation’s expectations but they’ve definitely exceeded what Vegas and several national pundits believed they would do this season.

Rather than go into full-on tank mode, the OKC Thunder have overtaken the Jazz as the West’s early Cinderella squad. In fact, there’s an argument to be made OKC has stolen the mantel from the other Cinderella squad – the Pacers who are reeling from the absence of Tyrese Haliburton.

Three intriguing storylines as OKC Thunder host Atlanta Hawks

As OKC prepares for the Atlanta Hawks this evening there are several storylines that offer intrigue heading into the match.

Trae Young loves playing in Oklahoma City with good reason. Young spent his early development years in OKC first at Norman in High School before attending Oklahoma for his college experience setting records with the Sooners.

Tensions between head coach Nate McMillan and Trae Young

In contrast to the feel-good environment the Thunder is enjoying, Atlanta has dealt with constant conflict and drama.

Young and head coach Nate McMillan are experiencing some internal issues with both seemingly vying for control. At one stage this season, Young elected to not show up for a game.

That stemmed from McMillan’s policy of every player needing to attend the walkthrough. But Young who was getting therapy on his sore shoulder elected to pass on the walkthrough.

This is despite McMillan saying if he didn’t attend he wouldn’t play.  The point guard took that to an extreme and didn’t show up even to sit on the bench which got plenty of play externally when the conversation was leaked to the public.

What appears to be the main issue is McMillan’s desire for the ball to be moving more and for Young and Murray to be sharing the playmaking role. The goal was for Young to increase the time he spends playing off-ball in order for the offense to be less scripted and give him additional (and easier) off-ball shooting opportunities.

During the recent five-game winning streak it appeared that Young bought more into that role. It certainly helped that Murray was having a particularly hot shooting streak.

Still, the ball isn’t moving to the degree McMillan desires. Even during the recent hot streak by the Hawks, there remain issues. Specifically, during the last 10 games Atlanta ranks 20th in assists (24.6) while the Thunder rank 10th in the same period (26.1).

And if all that wasn’t enough to have Hawks fans concerned – now there are whispers of trade rumors about Young.