Atlanta Hawks Game Preview: First Time Howling with the Wolves
By Chris Guest
A preview of the Atlanta Hawks first game of the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
For the first time this season, the Atlanta Hawks will face off against the new-look Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves were in the news early to start this season with Jimmy Butler delivering “tour-de-force” showings in practice and publicly carping about playing too many minutes.
Now with Butler on the 76ers and the Wolves adding two of the most lovable members of Philadelphia’s Process era (Robert Covington and Dario Saric), the Wolves have sparked a turnaround and are still in the thick of the playoff hunt in the bloodbath that is the lower reaches of the Western Conference standings.
More from Soaring Down South
- Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
- Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
- When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
- Grade the trade: Hawks deal Trae Young to Clippers in shocking proposal
- Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal
Beyond that, Karl-Anthony Towns has been unshackled with Butler gone, and he has refocused on living up to his potential as a former Rookie of the Year and #1 overall pick. Last year, Towns was certainly focused on obliterating the Atlanta Hawks, as he put up a career-high of 56 points against Atlanta late in the season.
This came on the heels of staying up late with Ben Simmons and playing PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds into the wee hours of the morning.
While Andrew Wiggins has continued to not quite live up to his billing as a former #1 overall pick, the Wolves’ 2018 draft picks of Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop were both on our radar here at SDS in the buildup to the draft.
Covington and Saric have keyed a solid turnaround for the Wolves, as Covington’s excellent defense and Saric’s overall malleable skill set has affected the Wolves in a myriad of way. The Wolves also count former Hawks great Jeff Teague among them, he of the magical 60-win team in which 4 of the team’s 5 starters were named to the All-Star game.
Next. 4 Players Most Likely to Be Traded in 2018-19. dark
Tip-off for this road game for the Hawks is slated for 8:00 p.m. EST.