Simple pleasures
To argue that the Thunder were heavily favored in their match against the Hawks yesterday would be to understate the obvious. It wasn’t simply that they had three days’ worth of rest following an emphatic victory over the highly regarded Spurs. It was also because their opponents were slated to host them after having lost six of the last eight outings. They were third in the competitive West, while the hosts were fourth to last in the bottom-heavy East. Most importantly, the latter were undermanned, with rotation regulars Kent Bazemore, Jeremy Lin, and Dewayne Dedmon decommissioned and starter Taurean Prince still ailing.
As things turned out, pregame predictions were off the mark — so off, in fact, that casual observers could not help but wonder how and why roles wound up being reversed. The Hawks, not known for marksmanship, managed to make a whopping 48.6% of their 37 three-point field-goal attempts, and 62.2% of 90 all told. That they did so against the Thunder, the National Basketball Association’s best by far on defense per advanced metrics, served only to underscore the bizarre nature of the proceedings. Momentum seemed to shift to extremes from quarter to quarter, culminating in the red and green turning a three-point deficit by the end of the third to a 16-point victory at the final buzzer.
Significantly, Hawkturned-Thunder guard Dennis Schroder best exemplified the roller-coaster ride the 15,045 fans at the State Farm Arena were subjected to; he dabbled with mediocrity in the first half, came out scorching after the break, and then finished in a whimper, his exits from and reentries to the court as much a reflection of inconsistent play as of matchup concerns. Meanwhile, Hawks counterpart Trae Young sizzled in the triumph, winding up with 24, six, and 11 to highlight his continued development as a 20-year-old rookie.
One game does not a season make, of course, and the Thunder will move on. And because they hang their hats in coverage, their system translates well to the slower pace in the playoffs. Parenthetically, they will become even better when noted leech Andre Roberson returns from a long layoff due to injury. For the Hawks, though, the outcome represents a step forward en route to a certain date with the lottery in June. Perspective counts, and from the vantage point of the would-be doormats, simple pleasures count a lot.
One game does not a season make, of course, and the Thunder will move on. And because they hang their hats in coverage, their system translates well to the slower pace in the playoffs. Parenthetically, they will become even better when noted leech Andre Roberson returns from a long layoff due to injury. For the Hawks, though, the outcome represents a step forward en route to a certain date with the lottery in June. Perspective counts, and from the vantage point of the would-be doormats, simple pleasures count a lot.