Atlanta Hawks: 3 keys to taking down the Minnesota Timberwolves
The Atlanta Hawks return home to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on MLK Day in one of the most pivotal matchups of the season so far.
The Atlanta Hawks have gone through a bad period in the schedule. They have been struck by injury and as a result, have lost six of their last seven. The only win during this period was against the Philadelphia 76ers who were playing Joel Embiid surrounded by role players and rookies.
With the Hawks injury report shrinking, they are starting to get players on the court who should be able to impact the fortunes of the Hawks for the better. Now the only long-term injuries they have are Bogdan Bogdanovic who is out indefinitely and Kris Dunn who is progressing in his recovery from surgery.
However, the Timberwolves have their own problems. Team cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns is out due to contracting COVID-19. As a result, two other players are out due to health and safety protocols. There are, unfortunately, the times that we live in now but it is to keep the league as healthy as possible.
Atlanta Hawks key No. 1) Do not play down to their level.
The Hawks should win this matchup quite comfortably. The Timberwolves are without their franchise player and their backup point guard in Ricky Rubio. While they do have two of their top scorers playing in Malik Beasley and D’Angelo Russell, neither of these two players are consistent game-winners.
What the Timberwolves do have is a lot of players who are looking to rebuild their careers or prove themselves as rookies. Every single player in the league is competitive and if you let your guard down there is always the possibility of a surprise loss, which the Hawks cannot afford.
Atlanta Hawks key No: 2) Feast in the pick and roll (again)
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For the second game in a row, the Hawks should feast in the pick and roll. As Clint Capela showed us last time out, if he does not have a strong defender on him, he is going to score. This then means that the defense is going to need to collapse on him to slow him down.
This is where Trae Young needs to step his game up again. He will also hopefully find his shooting stroke which has been missing for the majority of the Hawks losing streak. A game where he is open a little bit more like this one should see him start knocking them down.
Atlanta Hawks key No. 3) Key Matchup Trae Young vs D’Angelo Russell
Without Towns in the lineup and with Antony Edwards not quite living up to the No. 1 pick status yet, it is the battle of the point guards. Fortunately for Young, he has better men in the trenches with him and should be able to exploit the Timberwolves soft defense which ranks 27th in the NBA this season.
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Both of these players should get their numbers tonight but that will suit the Hawks, they have more to play for as well. The biggest question of the night is how they will have pulled up after finishing in Portland late Saturday night and then traveled back to Atlanta for this day game.