Preview 32 of 82: Hawks @ Thunder

Time: 7:00 PM CT

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Radio: WWLS (98.1 FM OKC / 97.1 FM Tulsa)

Game Notes: Thunder / Hawks

The Oklahoma City Thunder (16-15) is above .500 for the first time since Halloween and gets a look at the struggling Atlanta Hawks (7-24) tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Hawks are just 3-7 in the month of December and come in with one of the more porous defenses in the NBA. On the flipside, the Thunder carries an 8-3 record this month and appears to finally (maybe?) be rounding into shape.

Tip-off is at 7:00 PM CT on Fox Sports Oklahoma. The Thunder is a 10 point favorite according to Odds Shark.

Injury Report

Thunder

• N/A

Hawks

• Dennis Schröder: Questionable — Ankle
• Dewayne Dedmon: Out — Leg

Starting Five

Atlanta: Dennis Schröder, Kent Bazemore, Taurean Prince, Ersan Ilyasova, Miles Plumlee

Statistics

Traditional

Four Factors

Synergy (Click to Enlarge)

Thunder O & D:

Hawks O & D:

Notes

Schröder Status. Dennis Schröder is listed as questionable with an ankle sprain, but did go through morning shootaround. His status will be updated closer to tip-off and his presence would change the game for Atlanta. He’s averaging 19.4 PPG, 6.7 APG and is by far the team’s best player.

Surging Westbrook. Russell Westbrook has looked like his former self in the Thunder’s past three games. Over the span, he’s averaging 29 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 6.7 APG and shooting 59 percent from the floor. OKC has been unable to get all three of its stars clicking at the same time but Westbrook rounding into shape is a massive part of that ever taking place.

On The Glass. The Thunder has rebounded the basketball better in recent weeks, moving up the NBA rank to twelfth in the league at 44 per game. The Hawks enter as the third-worst rebounding team in the association at just 39.8 per contest, so OKC should be able to control the glass in this one.

Making The Free Ones. OKC is 29th in the league when it comes to free throw percentage, sitting at 71.3 percent as a team. The team shot 19/22 in the blowout win over Utah on Wednesday — if the Hawks hang around and make a game of this, expect that to correlate with another poor outing at the stripe for the Thunder.

Guarding The Three. Atlanta has the eighth-best three-point percentage in the NBA at 37.9 percent. On a roster void of much weaponry, the Thunder likely waltzes to victory if it contains the Hawks from distance.

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Dennis Schröder discusses how dangerous the Thunder can be. Via Nikki Kay.