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Atlanta Hawks: Hawks vs. Thunder Pre Game Report

By Clayton Crowe

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The Atlanta Hawks will try to forget the buzz saw known as the Spurs they ran afoul on Saturday evening as they host the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday night.

The Hawks return home on Monday after a Western Conference road trip that included stops in Minnesota, Memphis and San Antonio.  Those three games in four nights would be rough on any team, especially a Hawks team that is currently banged up and trying to find an identity.  Coach Bud has been juggling rotations for virtually the entire season, trying to make sure he manages minutes early on for both Korver and Sefolosha while dealing with injuries to Bazemore, Teague and Splitter.  Add that to the fact that Tim Hardaway Jr. didn’t see minutes the first 15 games but has been thrust into the rotation in each of the last four and that’s a recipe for inconsistency, which is exactly what the Hawks have been 19 games into the season.

The Hawks are coming off of, arguably, their worst game of the season against the Spurs.  The team scored a season low 12 points in the second quarter, a quarter in which the Spurs took complete control of the game and never looked back.   Kawhi Leonard scored a game high 22 points in just 29 minutes of action and Tim Duncan pulled down a season high 18 rebounds.  No Spurs starter played more than 29 minutes and no Hawks starter played more than 26.  That stat alone can show you how lopsided this one was.  The Spurs’ defense smothered the Hawks all night, but particularly in the second quarter.  Jeff Teague couldn’t seem to find any space to operate none of the Hawks’ wings could get open beyond the arc to help spread the floor.  The team was 6-26 from distance and it was worse than that before the starters were pulled late in the game.

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The NBA schedule makers didn’t to the Hawks any favors early on as the Thunder are coming off of two days rest while the Hawks are returning home from a three game road trip.  The Thunder haven’t been on the road since November 16th and have had only one back to back during that time period.  The Hawks on the other hand have had 3 back to backs and have been on the road for five out of seven during that same span.  But I digress.

The Thunder, winners of four straight, have been bolstered by the return of Kevin Durant after missing six games earlier this month.  His return has taken some of the pressure off of Russell Westbrook who was looking very MVP-ish during those six games even if the team struggled overall.  The Thunder last played on Friday night at home against the Pistons, a game where they just took over in the second half after being down by 7 at the break.  They outscored the Pistons by 23 in the final 24 minutes to cruise to a 103-87 win.  On a night when Westbrook struggled (14 points on 5-14 shooting) and fouled out, Durant took the game over in the second half scoring a game high 34 points and hauling in a season high 13 rebounds.

This will be the first meeting between these two teams this year and with the Hawks struggling of late, it could get ugly.  Teague and Sefolosha will have to come up huge defensively in this game as one of the dynamic duo that are Durant and Westbrook needs to be shut down.

Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks /

Atlanta Hawks

Keys to the Game:

One but not Both: As I mentioned above, the Thunder are beatable when you slow down either Westbrook or Durant.  There

Nov 28, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague (0) is fouled while shooting by San Antonio Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (behind) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

will almost never be a night where both players struggle, but if you can contain one then you have a shot.  If both players get it going then they are virtually unbeatable.  That’s a tall task for the Hawks who are a good defensive team, but not great.  The loss of DMC will really hurt in games like this as he is the prototypical wing defender you need for guys like LeBron and Durant.  But I have faith that either Teague and/or Thabo will be up to the challenge.  Thabo played with both guys for five seasons so he’s familiar with what tricks they have up their sleeves which should give the Hawks something to go off of.

Defend without Fouling: To piggy back off of the defending of Westbrook and Durant, the Hawks will need to defend both guys without fouling.  Westbrook and Durant are currently 4th and 11th respectively in terms of free throw attempts per game.  That is the top such duo in the league.  And since they both hit them at an extremely high clip, 82.1% and 90.5%, sending them to the line and letting them see shots drop just won’t do.  Both players are above average jump shooters but it is when they get a head of steam and get to the free throw line that they become deadly.  Hawks’ defenders need to keep both guys out of the lane, stay on their feet and refrain from hand checking as much as possible because cheap fouls only get them into the bonus faster.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Atlanta Hawks

  • PG: Jeff Teague
  • SG: Kyle Korver
  • SF: Kent Bazemore
  • PF: Paul Millsap
  • C: Al Horford

Notes: Tiago Splitter (hip) is doubtful for tonight’s game.

Oklahoma City Thunder

  • PG: Russell Westbrook
  • SG: Andre Roberson
  • SF: Kevin Durant
  • PF: Serge Ibaka
  • C: Steven Adams

Notes: Full roster will be available for Coach Billy Donovan.

Other News & Notes:

  • Al Horford has made more 3’s this season (22) than he has made in every other season combined (21)
  • The Hawks rank in the bottom four in the league at free throw attempts per game with 21.2
  • The Hawks forced the Spurs into 16 TO’s and rank in the top five in the NBA in that category with 9.3 per game
  • The Hawks will be at home for the next three against the Thunder, Raptors and Lakers
  • Tonight’s game will be broadcast on Fox Sports South (TV) and 92.9 The Game (Radio)

Next: Atlanta Hawks: Consistently Inconsistent

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