Tip-Off: 6:30 PM CT
Location: State Farm Arena (Atlanta, Georgia)
Television: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live-tweets and discussion during the game
The Oklahoma City Thunder wrap up a 3-game road trip tonight in Atlanta against the Hawks, and after dropping the first two games to Milwaukee and Boston, the Thunder’s record has dropped to 6-10 overall and just 2-6 on the road. The Hawks are just 8-9 on the season after making the Eastern Conference Semifinal last season, but they are on a 4-game winning streak and maintain a 7-1 home record.
OKC could be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander due a sprained ankle, but he hasn’t been shooting all that great lately anyway. If he is able to go, hopefully he can work his way out of his shooting slump and get back on track to where he was at the start of the season.
If the Thunder is healthy, they should be able to keep this one close, despite being double-digit underdogs. OKC has consistently been a heavy underdog on the road, but they have covered the spread more often than not. I anticipate they will compete to the end in this one before heading back to OKC for a couple of home games.
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Josh Giddey
- PF: Darius Bazley
- C: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
Hawks
- PG: Trae Young
- SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic
- SF: Kevin Huerter
- PF: John Collins
- C: Clint Capela
Injuries
Thunder
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is QUESTIONABLE (sprained right ankle).
- Vit Krejci is OUT (G League – on assignment).
- Theo Maledon is OUT (G League – on assignment).
- Tre Mann is OUT (G League – on assignment).
- Paul Watson is OUT (G League – two-way).
Hawks
- Bogdan Bogdanovic is QUESTIONABLE (right quad contusion).
- DeAndre Hunter is OUT (right wrist tendon surgery).
- Onyeka Okongwu is OUT (right shoulder injury recovery).
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 15-9 against the Hawks (9-3 at home, 6-6 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series against the Hawks 5 times, lost it twice, and tied 6 times.
- The Thunder tied the season series with the Hawks 1-1 last year (1-0 at home, 0-1 on the road).
- The Thunder has won 5 of the last 7 games against the Hawks but lost the last 2 in Atlanta.