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Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder is playing really inconsistently this season. They can beat the Warriors and lose to the 76ers on any given day. Also, Thunder is playing on streaks. They can lose 4 or 5 straight games, just to win 6 games in a row later on. I think this OKC team is one of the most inconsistent teams in the whole league, and Atlanta Hawks will try to take advantage of it, as it looks like Thunder are on a bad streak now. They lost their 3 out of 4 games, and Victor Oladipo had a wrist injury. This team is still 15-11, standing 7th in the West Conference.
Despite all the negative things which surround Thunder with one week to go to Christmas, I can still see them being favorites to win against Hawks. They did it 2 weeks ago in Atlanta, and Russell Westbrook with the whole team will do their best to repeat the success. Apart from Oladipo being injured, next big question mark is on Westbrook's energy level. Is it possible that Russ is already tired? His numbers have dropped significantly during the last 5 games, so let's just wait for the game to see.
Leaders of Oklahoma City Thunder:
Well, if we are talking about leaders of Oklahoma City Thunder, it is pretty straightforward - Russell Westbrook. The guy is playing explosive basketball and he is still averaging triple double per game! The last guy who averaged a triple double in December was legendary Oscar Robertson. Nuff said.
However, Russell looks a little tired during the last 2 weeks. His 6 games triple-double streak is over, and it looks like he needs some rest. That is totally understandable, even for Russ. I still think that he has the most stamina in whole NBA, but even Russ has his limits.
Of course, there are other guys as well. Victor Oladipo is a solid second option in offense, he is playing consistent, and better every day. Sadly, he will most likely miss the game against Hawks, so others will have to step it up.
Steven Adams has found his scoring game, averages over 10 points, and is playing the main big guy for this OKC team. Also, other big guys like Kanter, Sabonis, and Lauvergne are always waiting for their moments, and usually capitalize on them.
Source
The Oklahoma City Thunder is an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Thunder competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays its home games at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder's NBA Development League affiliate is the Oklahoma City Blue, which it owns. The Thunder is the only team in the major professional North American sports leagues based in the state of Oklahoma.
The team was originally established as the Seattle SuperSonics, an expansion team that joined the NBA for the 1967–68 season. The SuperSonics relocated in 2008 after a settlement was reached between the ownership group led by Clay Bennett and lawmakers in Seattle, Washington following a lawsuit. In Seattle, the SuperSonics qualified for the NBA playoffs 22 times, won their division six times, and won the 1979 NBA Championship. In Oklahoma City, the Thunder qualified for their first playoff berth during the 2009–10 season. They followed that success by winning their first division title as the Thunder in the 2010–11 season and their first Western Conference championship as the Thunder in the 2011–12 season, appearing in the NBA Finals for the fourth time in franchise history and first since 1996, when the club was based in Seattle.
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks started their season with an impressive 9-2 balance, and it looked like the off-season loss of Jeff Teague and Al Horford didn't do any damage to the team. However, November brought some dark days to Atlanta, this team has lost 10 games and only won once. The 10th lost was against Oklahoma City Thunder, 2 weeks ago. Something happened since then and the momentum switched again. Atlanta Hawks has won 3 out of 4 games since, including an away victory against one of the league favorites Toronto Raptors.
Those massive wins put Atlanta back into the race for play-offs, and they are currently 7th. It looks like Howard, Milssap, and Shroder have reached some good form as well. Yes, this time Atlanta Hawks will be a little different than 12 days ago and will grab Thunder with their at the moment sharp claws. I predict it to be a close and high-scoring game. Isn't it the best combo?
Leaders of the Hawks:
So, the main reason why Atlanta Hawks is still considered one of the main favorites to fight Cavaliers in the East Conference is their balance. There are five guys in the team, who are scoring at least 10 points per game. It means that opponents cannot know what to expect from the Hawks. However, in my eyes, there are 3 players, who are a little bit more important than others..
Dwight Howard
This guy was the best center in the league 6 years ago. However, his career is not that fortunate after leaving Orlando. He failed to fit in Lakers, and he was not that old good Dwight Howard in Rockets for the last 3 years. This season he joined Atlanta, and it looks like he is producing... at last. 14 points and 12.5 rebounds per game which is solid, and he is the main big guy up here.Paul Milssap
Nothing much to say as this guy is the true leader of Hawks. It is his 4th season in the team, he knows all the schemes, and Coach Budenholzer trusts him fully.Dennis Shroder
I remember watching this guy, when he was playing for the German International team back in 2014, and I wondered when will he get his shot at NBA. Well, it looks like he got it this year. Without Jeff Teague in the team, Shroder is the main PG now, and he is scoring almost 16 points, and dishes 6 assists per game. It is not the best numbers yet, but this guy is only 23!!!The Atlanta Hawks are a professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at Philips Arena.
The team's origins can be traced to the establishment of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in 1946 in Moline, Illinois, a member of the National Basketball League (NBL) and owned by Ben Kerner & Leo Ferris.In 1949, they joined the NBA as part of the merger between the NBL and the Basketball Association of America (BAA), and had Red Auerbach as coach briefly. In 1951, Kerner moved the team to Milwaukee, where they changed their name to the Hawks. Kerner and the team moved again in 1955 to St. Louis, where they won their only NBA championship in 1958 and qualified to play in the NBA Finals in 1957, 1960 and 1961. The Hawks played the Boston Celtics in all four of their trips to the NBA Finals. The St. Louis Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968, when Kerner sold the franchise to Thomas Cousins and former Georgia Governor Carl Sanders.
The Hawks currently own the second-longest drought (behind the Sacramento Kings) of not winning an NBA championship at 57 seasons. The franchise's lone NBA championship, as well as all four NBA Finals appearances, occurred when the team was based in St. Louis. Meanwhile, they went 48 years without advancing past the second round of the playoffs in any format, until finally breaking through in 2015. Much of the failure they've experienced in the postseason can be traced back to their poor history in the NBA draft. Since 1980, the Hawks have drafted only four players who have been chosen to play in an NBA All-Star Game (Doc Rivers, Kevin Willis, Al Horford, and Jeff Teague). Dominique Wilkins was actually selected by the Utah Jazz and traded to the Hawks a few months after the draft. Horford and Teague are the only All-Star Hawks to have been drafted since Willis was selected in 1984, and Horford is also the only first-rounder the Hawks selected in their nine-year playoff drought to play in an NBA All-Star Game.
