The Atlanta Hawks head to Chesapeake Energy Arena to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Dec. 10 and will air on FxS, FxK and C+D.
The Thunder easily got past the Grizzlies 125-88 on Tuesday. With 32 points and 10 rebounds, Kevin Durant recorded his sixth double-double this season. The Hawks, meanwhile, are coming off a 98-95 win over the Mavericks on Wednesday. Paul Millsap played well and claimed his 11th double-double of the season, recording 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Oklahoma City could own the offensive glass in this matchup, as they rank first in the NBA in offensive rebound percentage at 30.5%. Conversely, the Hawks are 27th in the league on the defensive backboards with a defensive rebound percentage of 73.9%.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Hawks won the first game 106-100. In the loss, Russell Westbrook had a double-double with 34 points and 11 rebounds.
The Thunder, a seven-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Atlanta. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 210 points. Despite a 13-8 Straight Up (SU) record, the Thunder have not fared well Against The Spread (ATS) with an 8-13 record. They are 3-7 ATS over their last 10 games, but have found ways to get wins, going 7-3 SU. Oklahoma City has an edge in the rebounding department for this game, where they rack up an average of 48.1 rebounds per game. Turning to the defensive side, the Thunder are the second-best team in the league at blocking shots, averaging 6.8 blocks per game.
On the other side, the Hawks head into the game with records of 10-11-1 ATS and 13-9 SU. In Western Conference games, Atlanta has gone 6-4 SU and 5-5 ATS. Atlanta is one of the top foul-shooting teams in the league, converting .803 of their shots from the line. When it comes to making good decisions with the ball, not many are better than the Hawks. They have one of the top assist-to-turnover ratios in the league at 1.75. When it comes to stealing the ball, the Hawks are one of the best in the league with an average of 9.2 steals per game. Atlanta makes opponents pay for turning the ball over, ranking second in points off turnovers with an average of 20.2 per game.
The Hawks’ win over Oklahoma City in their last clash couldn’t give them the edge in the head-to-head record over the past 10 meetings, where the Thunder still lead 6-4 SU. At 5-5, they are even ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – OKC, ATS Winner – Atl, O/U – Over
Notes
Oklahoma City is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Oklahoma City’s last 7 games.
Oklahoma City is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games.
Oklahoma City is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Oklahoma City is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oklahoma City’s last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oklahoma City’s last 6 games when playing Atlanta.
Oklahoma City is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games when playing Atlanta.
Oklahoma City is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oklahoma City’s last 5 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
Atlanta ranks 14th in points per game with 101.3, while Oklahoma City ranks 17th in points allowed with an average of 101.6 given up.
Atlanta scores an average of 100.0 points per away game (ranked 12th). Oklahoma City ranks 13th in points allowed per home game with 98.4.
In its last game, Atlanta won by a margin of three points. Oklahoma City is 3-2 in games decided by three points or less. Atlanta also has a 3-2 record in close games.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Atlanta Hawks are a solid 10-4. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Oklahoma City Thunder have an underachieving record of 1-5.
When the Atlanta Hawks allow at least 100 points they are 4-5, while the Oklahoma City Thunder are 12-3 when they reach the century mark.
The Thunder have a defensive rating of 100.3 (ranked 10th), while the Hawks rank eighth for their offensive rating of 104.0.
Oklahoma City has an average field goal percentage of 46.9% (ranked third). Atlanta is a poor 2-4 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
On average, Oklahoma City attempts 22.0 three pointers and Atlanta attempts 26.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Thunder have a winning 5-2 record while the Hawks are even at 7-7.
Oklahoma City has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.33 this season (ranked 25th). Atlanta ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.75 (ranked fourth).
Oklahoma City ranks second among all teams in rebounding, placing the team near the top of the league (48.1 per game). Atlanta, however, ranks 26th in rebounding with 42.0 per game.
Oklahoma City ranks fifth in defensive rebounding, placing the team near the top of the pack. Atlanta, however, ranks 27th in offensive rebounds.
On average, the Hawks force a turnover rate of 15.7%, ranked eighth in the NBA. When the Thunder turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 8-4 record.
