The OKC Thunder want to be good. There are aspirations of home-court advantage in the first round and of keeping Paul George.
The Atlanta Hawks want to be bad. Most of their players tonight were G-Leaguers. To say that there was a noticeable number of empty seats at this game would be an understatement.
With Steven Adams missing the game with a hip contusion, with Dakari Johnson starting in his place, and with the team on short rest, the Thunder had two clear imperatives: get Paul George the ball and play defense.
For the first quarter, they succeeded.