Vitals: Thunder at Hawks

Oklahoma City preps for one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference on Monday.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:26 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Jan 18, 2010 10:27 AM CDT

Dave Carty
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Oklahoma City Thunder (22-18) at Atlanta Hawks (26-13)
Monday, January 18, 2010, 1 p.m. CST.
Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Game 41 of 82

Anticipated Starting Lineups

	Oklahoma City (Away)	Atlanta (Home)
PG	Russell Westbrook 16.3 PPG, 7.4 APG	Mike Bibby 9.4 PPG, 4.5 APG
SG	Thabo Sefolosha 5.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG	Joe Johnson 21.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG
SF	Kevin Durant 29.1 PPG, 7.2 RPG	Marvin Williams 10.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG
PF	Jeff Green 14.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG	Josh Smith 14.9 PPG, 8.2 RPG
C	Nenad Krstic 8.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG	Al Horford 13.7 PPG, 9.9 RPG

Injuries
Oklahoma City: F, Matt Harpring (knee, out); G/F, Kyle Weaver (shoulder, out); G, Kevin Ollie (knee, day-to-day).
Atlanta: C, Zaza Pachulia (flu-like symptoms, probable).

Where to find it?
On TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma
On Radio: Thunder Radio Network

What you need to know?
It’s been an impressive six game stretch for the Hawks, dispatching Boston twice and Phoenix, winning five games. Atlanta’s only slip up came against Orlando, which is nipping at the Hawks’ heels just a half game back in the Southeast Division. For that reason, Atlanta will be looking to create some distance. With the fewest turnovers per game in the NBA (12.2), Atlanta doesn’t give its opponents many chances.

Oklahoma City’s 14 wins versus Eastern Conference teams are best in the Western Conference. Rookie Eric Maynor’s contributions off the bench have increased since his acquisition, scoring eight or more points in three of his last four games. Kevin Durant has scored 30-plus points in five straight games, with double-doubles in three of those.

Who to watch?
Power forward Josh Smith is one of the NBA’s best pure athletes. With an astounding vertical leap (which leads to blocks and rebounds) and great scoring ability, Smith does a little bit of everything. Blink and you might miss one of his dunks.

James Harden has scored double-figures in three straight games, providing a much-needed compliment for Durant in a low-scoring game against the Miami Heat.