The Oklahoma City Thunder tonight head to the Phillips Arena to face the struggling Atlanta Hawks. The Oklahoma City Thunder are on a roll winning their last 7 games and have won their first 2 of the second half of the season. The Atlanta Hawks in contrast have won 3 of their last 7 and continue to struggle finding themselves at 6th in the east after a strong start to the 2012 season. Kevin Durant is averaging 28.0 PPG and 7.9 RPG while his partners in crime Russell Westbrook is averaging 23.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 5.6 APG and James Harden is scoring 16.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 3.7 APG off the bench. The Atlanta Hawks don't have that kind of scoring power and the Hawks' leading scorer is Joe Johnson who is averaging 17.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 3.7 APG. Oklahoma City Thunder, at least in my expectation are going to control the glass which is going to be key in this game. The Thunder also have a big advantage in the point guard position where Jeff Teague I feel is going to have trouble guarding Russy. Kevin Durant is going to get his points but to control the Thunder as a team the Hawks need to control James harden and Russell Westbrook. That is the threat of the Oklahoma City Thunder. When Kevin Durant struggles, there's Russell Westbrook. When Russell Westbrook struggles, there's James Harden. And when James Harden struggles.. well you get the point. There's not much to say about the Atlanta Hawks except that they're struggling. The Atlanta Hawks need a good point guard to facilitate because they do have offensive options in Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams and Josh Smith. But the reason I feel these 3 Hawks struggle to get wins for their team is because there's too much isolation and dependence when each of them have the ball. If Jeff Teague can facilitate and rotate the ball to find his offensive threats in the right scoring positions, then the scoring will come more naturally for the Hawks although I am not discrediting the one on one capabilities that each of these players have. The Thunder are going to control the rebounds, and if the Thunder can shoot the 3 ball well throughout the game then 6 points should be a reasonable spread to cover. Against Philly, the Thunder match ups were even in terms of a team effort. Durant and Igoudala matched up well, Louis Williams and Jrue Holiday are point guards who can hold their own against elite scorers such as Russell Westbrook and Thaddeus Young is a solid defender who can hold his own against a scorer like Durant. Orlando has Dwight Howard who can control the paint to counter defend the 3 point shot and the penetration from the stars of OKC. Both games were close due to defensive efforts and scoring from opposing teams to the Thunder which I think the Hawks lack. I think the Thunder play a good game, get an easy win (although the spread may not be easy) and cover for tonight.
Result: Even the Thunder can't win 'em all. Tonight despite not having Joe Johnson, the Atlanta Hawks pulled a tough win at home while struggling against a rolling Oklahoma City Thunder. Josh Smith played a good game with a double double scoring 30 points while grabbing 12 boards. Zaza Pachulia had 14 boards, 9 of those offensive boards as opposed to the Thunder getting 10 as a team. Kevin Durant had 35 points and 8 boards and Russell Westbrook had 25 points. James Harden scored 10 off the bench and also had 6 boards. The Thunder shot 6 for 23 from 3 point range and shot 41% from the field. The Hawks shot the 3 ball well at 47% going 8 for 17 from distance. Jeff Teague also helped the Hawks today which is key when going against an elite scorer in Westbrook and scored 16 points. It was a tough night for the Thunder, and the Hawks got the W in a well played game 97-90.
9-4-1
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