The Atlanta Hawks are suffering through an injury crisis which reminds us of last season in a scary manner. They started the season with Onyeka Okongwu missing up to six months with injury. Kevin Huerter and Clint Capela also had slow starts to the season thanks to offseason procedures.
As the season has gone on, they have lost De’Andre Hunter for an extended period, Bogdan Bogdanovic for at least two weeks and Cam Reddish is a day-by-day proposition. On top of that Solomon Hill injured his hamstring against the Charlotte Hornets.
This leaves the Hawks extremely thin at the wing position. Huerter is deputizing for Bogdanovic in the starting lineup meaning that Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot is the starting small forward. He is starting to feel a lot more comfortable with his role in the team.
The Atlanta Hawks are taking on the Timberwolves at the worst time
On top of the injury crisis that the Hawks are currently going through, they are playing the second night of a back-to-back. They currently hold a 1-4 record on the second night of this scenario. However, making matters worse, they are 0-4 when the back-to-back is in a different arena.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are on a two-game losing streak and have not played since December 3rd which has given them two days off. They will be able to field some fresher legs for the contest thanks to the rest days.
There are a couple of lights at the end of the tunnel for the Hawks though. The Timberwolves will be without their best defender in Patrick Beverley as he is out with an adductor strain. Their two biggest stars, D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns have also been listed as questionable.
However, as shown by the loss to the depleted Charlotte Hornets, the Hawks can take nothing for granted. The Timberwolves are still a team with high-level NBA talent and need to be taken seriously.