Atlanta Hawks Announce Starting Lineup For Tonight's Game vs the Thunder

This is going to be the second matchup of the year between these teams and Atlanta is hoping it goes much better than the previous one. OKC shut down the Hawks' offense in the last game in Oklahoma City and the game was not very competitive. The Hawks's three-point shooting struggled and Trae Young was still in his early-season shooting slump. Young has snapped out of that slump and is playing like one of the best guards in the NBA, while the Hawks are a better three-point shooting team.

The Hawks are 3rd in the NBA in PPG, 18th in field goal percentage, 6th in three-point attempts, 13th in three-point percentage, 10th in free throw attempts, 17th in turnovers, and second in offensive rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 5th in points per 100 possessions, 14th in effective field goal percentage, 13th in turnover percentage, 4th in offensive rebounding, and 12th in free throw rate.

Rebounding and three-point shooting are the ways the Hawks can hurt the Thunder. OKC is last in offensive rebounding and they are 29th in three-point attempts allowed. If the Hawks can win the battle on the glass and shoot efficiently from beyond the arc, they can win this game tonight. The Thunder lack size and with Clint Capela, Jalen Johnson, and Saddiq Bey, Atlanta can win the rebounding game by a lot and will likely need to. 

The Thunder are not only very good on the defensive end, but they have an elite offense as well, led by an MVP candidate at point guard.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.4 PPG, 6.4 APG, and 5.7 RPG on 54.9% shooting from the floor and 33.0% from three. After this recent stretch of games, Gilgeous-Alexander has vaulted to the front of the MVP conversation and Atlanta will have their hands full tonight with him.

The Thunder are 4th in PPG, 3rd in field goal percentage, 17th in three-point attempts, 1st in three-point percentage, 15th in free throw attempts, 4th in turnovers, and last in offensive rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, OKC is 6th in points per 100 possessions, 4th in effective field goal percentage, 1st in turnover percentage, 28th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 9th in free throw rate.

Gilgeous-Alexander leads the way, but Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey, and Holmgren make up a dangerous shooting lineup. Rookie guard Cason Wallace has been one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA already and Lou Dort (who torched the Hawks in their last meeting) is a very good two-way player.

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