Starting Lineups: Atlanta Hawks vs Oklahoma City Thunder

The Atlanta Hawks and the Oklahoma City Thunder are getting ready to tip-off tonight's game in Atlanta and both teams have announced their starting lineups for the game:

Hawks

G- Trae Young

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Mouhamed Gueye

C - Onyeka Okongwu

Thunder

G - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

G - Cason Wallace

F - Jalen Williams

F - Lou Dort

C - Chet Holmgren

The Atlanta Hawks are 1-3 since the All-Star break and things are not going to get any easier tonight. Atlanta is going to host the 47-11 Oklahoma Cit Thunder, who are the top team in the Western Conference and have the second best record in the NBA coming into tonight's game. The two teams last saw each other in October, a Thunder win. It was a competitive game for the first three quarters, but the Thunder's offense exploded in the 4th for them to get a double-digit win over Atlanta. The Hawks are fighting for positioning in the Eastern Conference, while OKC is hoping to end the season with the best record in the NBA.

Our own Rohan Raman gave an in-depth preview of the game tonight

"Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 8th in the NBA in PPG, 16th in FG%, 15th in 3PA, 20th in 3P%, 2nd in FTA, 26th in turnovers, and 12th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 17th in points per 100 possessions, 17th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 12th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 5th in free throw rate.

Currently, the Hawks rank 27th in PPG allowed, 29th in field goal percentage allowed, 17th in three-point attempts allowed, and 27th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 16th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 29th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

The Thunder have been one of the best offenses in basketball all year and the numbers bear that out. They are 4th in the NBA in PPG, 9th in FG%, 9th in 3PA, 13th in 3P%, 28th in FTA, 1st in turnovers, and 13th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, OKC is 5th in points per 100 possessions, 10th in effective field goal percentage, 1st in turnover percentage, 19th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 24th in free throw rate.

However, their real strength is their absolutely smothering defense. The Thunder rank 2nd in PPG allowed, 1st in field goal percentage allowed, 21st in three-point attempts allowed, and 1st in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, OKC is 1st in points allowed per 100 possessions and 1st in effective field goal percentage allowed.

The Hawks are going to need a bounce-back game from Trae Young if they have any chance of being in this game. Young has been below his usual standards as a scorer all season (likely partially due to his nagging Achilles tendinitis), but the last two games have not been pretty. After three straight games of 38 points, Young dropped 11 and 17 points respectively in both of his games against Miami. He'll avoid a difficult matchup with Alex Caruso, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an excellent defender in his own right. It is important to note that the Thunder's defense has not been as strong out of the All-Star break as it has been for most of the season. Killian Hayes had an efficient 19 points and seven assists against OKC and the Thunder were essentially at full health. They've been very reliant on the combination of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein to shut teams down with incredible rim protection. This leaves them susceptible to guards finding some success against their perimeter defense. Young is due for a big scoring performance and this could be his get-right game."