The Atlanta Hawks season begins tonight as they face their biggest test of the young season so far. Atlanta travels to Oklahoma City tonight to take on the Thunder, who have looked fantastic to start the season. OKC has been considered to be among the top contenders for the NBA title this season, and they have looked the part so far in the first two games.

The Hawks are off to a 2-0 start after wins over Brooklyn and Charlotte and have been exciting to watch so far. Newcomer Dyson Daniels has been a big addition to the team, and No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher is a perfect fit and making an impact in ways other than scoring. Perhaps most importantly, however, Trae Young looks like an All-NBA guard in two games.

Young is off to a fantastic start to the season and has two consecutive games of at least 30 points and 10 assists. In Friday’s game against Charlotte, Young had 38 points and 10 assists on 11-24 shooting and also had eight rebounds. He’ll be facing one of the league’s best defenses tonight, and the Thunder have plenty of options to try to protect Young.

The story of the Hawks season so far has been Dyson Daniels. Daniels played incredible defense and is playing well offensively as well, scoring 18 points on 8-10 shooting. He will be tasked with guarding MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Daniels had some early fouls in the game that caused him to sit in the first half and he will have to watch for that tonight.

De’Andre Hunter was fantastic against the Hornets on Friday. He scored 24 points on 7-14 and looked comfortable with the ball and aggressive on offense. Hunter will continue to be in the starting lineup and could guard Jalen Williams tonight. After a difficult preseason, Hunter has bounced back nicely and is off to a good start.

The Hawks will need Jalen Johnson to rise to the challenge tonight. Johnson has gotten off to a slow start so far this season, but that’s by his standards. He scored 16 points on 4-15 shooting and was 1-4 from three. He hasn’t shot the ball super well this season, but it’s only been two games.

The center position has seen Onyeka Okongwu play more minutes every game and that can continue tonight. The Thunder are a better matchup for Okongwu and I think he will play more than Capela. Okongwu didn’t have another 28-point game, but he still made an impact against Charlotte. Will this be the first game Larry Nance plays this season?

The bench will still be without Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kobe Bufkin. On Friday against Charlotte, Zaccharie Risacher, Vit Krejci, Garrison Matthews and Okongwu came off the bench. In terms of scoring, no bench player hit double figures, but they found ways to influence the game.

Risacher has yet to hit his stride so far in two games and has struggled to shoot the ball. However, he played well on defense and does a lot of things like defend and rebound. Risacher is getting open shots and has shown a willingness to shoot them. It won’t be long before the stats roll in.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Lou Dort and Chet Holmgren started for the Thunder against the Bulls last night. Gilgeous Alexander (23 points), Williams (24) and Holmgren (21) led the team. Oklahoma City has a very deep bench and with them being back to back, you could see a lot of guys play tonight.

The Hawks will be without Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kobe Bufkin, Dominick Barlow, Seth Lundy and Cody Zeller for tonight’s game.

Here’s how you can watch tonight’s game:

Reception Time: 7:00 PM Eastern Time

Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK

Where to watch: Bally Sports Southeast

This will be a massive test for the Hawks. They could make a statement with a road win against Oklahoma City, but I want to see how they match up and compete. So far this season. Oklahoma City looks like one of the top teams in the NBA and I think this will be too much of a task for the Hawks on the road.

Final score: Thunder 116, Hawks 108

Additional links

Hawks vs Thunder: Game preview, injury report, betting odds, projected starting lineups for tonight’s game

Injury Report: Hawks vs Thunder

Biggest Atlanta Hawks 125-120 win over Hornets