Atlanta Hawks vs Minnesota Timberwolves: Final Score Predictions for Tonight's Game

Can the Hawks pull an upset over Minnesota tonight?
Dec 23, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) is defended by Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Dec 23, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) is defended by Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks have lost four straight games and now enter into one of the most difficult parts of their schedule. Tonight, they are going on the road to face Minnesota and they will. be doing so without Jalen Johnson and Trae Young. This is going to be the second straight missed game for Johnson since injuring his shoulder in last Thursday's loss to the Raptors. The Hawks have pulled some upsets before this season as big underdogs, but this is going to be quite the challenge.

The Timberwolves have not been quite as good as they were last season (for now), but they still have one of the best defenses in the NBA and one of the best players in the NBA, Anthony Edwards. Minnesota is coming off of a blowout win over the Nuggets on Saturday.

In the first matchup of the year, Atlanta won by 13 at home. Young had 29 points and both Garrison Matthews (25 points) and De'Andre Hunter (19 points) had big games off the bench. Hunter is questionable for the game tonight, as are Zaccharie Risacher and Larry Nance. The Hawks could use all three of them tonight as they face the Timberwolves.

Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 9th in the NBA in PPG, 17th in FG%, 14th in 3PA, 23rd in 3P%, 3rd in FTA, 26th in turnovers, and 9th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 19th in points per 100 possessions, 21st in effective field goal percentage, 19th in turnover percentage, 9th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 7th in free throw rate.

Currently, the Hawks rank 28th in PPG allowed, 27th in field goal percentage allowed, 25th in three-point attempts allowed, and 29th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 15th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 27th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Minnesota comes into tonight's game ranking 22nd in PPG, 16th in FG%, 7th in 3PA, 3rd in 3P%, 23rd in FTA, 20th in rebounding, and 21st in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Minnesota is 14th in points per 100 possessions, 12th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 14th in offensive rebounding rate, and 16th in free throw rate.

Defensively, the Timberwolves are still one of the best defenses in the NBA. Minnesota is 4th in PPG allowed, 8th in FG% allowed, 9th in 3PA allowed, and 4th in 3P% allowed.

One question for the Hawks tonight is if they will have Keaton Wallace available to help fill the point guard spot. Wallace played for the Hawk's G-League affiliate last night and played 31 minutes. Keep an eye out to see if he is called up to play tonight or if the Hawks try to win the game without him. He had a great game in his last start for the Hawks against the Chicago Bulls, scoring 27 points on 10-18 shooting.

Dyson Daniels might have a lot of the lead guard and playmaking duties fall on his shoulders tonight. In the last game vs Minnestota, Daniels had eight steals in the game. He will be tasked with guarding Anthony Edwards tonight as well.

Vit Krejci has been the Hawks best shooter over the past week. Atlanta has been the worst three-point shooting team over the past week, but Krejci has been a bright spot. He scored 20 points on 6-11 from three on Saturday vs Toronto.

If Zaccharie Risacher is able to play tonight, it will be his first game since Jan. 14th. If he plays, will he play his normal alottment of minutes? The Hawks could use his defense tonight against the Timberwolves.

Onyeka Okongwu did not play in the first matchup vs Minnesota, but he has been playing well over the past couple of weeks for the Hawks. He had 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for the Hawks on Saturday vs the Raptors. He is going to have a tough matchup tonight vs Rudy Gobert.

If Nance is able to play, the Hawks may have to play him at the power forward spot like they did Saturday. Nance looked like his hand might still be bothering him on Saturday vs the Raptors.

The most important injury status for tonight with Young and Johnson out is De'Andre Hunter. Hunter can be a huge lift for the Hawks on offense as well as giving them another defender against the Timberwolves. If he does not play, it is going to be very tough for the Hawks to win this game.

Garrison Matthews had a tremendous game in the first matchup vs Minnesota, but over the past six games, he is just 3-22 from three and in the month of January, he is 27%. Similarly, Bogdan Bogdanovic is also struggling. Bogdanvoic was 2-12 and 0-6 from three on Saturday and he is 5-31 from three in his last six games. He is shooting just 24% from three in the month of January.

The injury report is going to determine who else might play in this game tonight for Atlanta. Keep an eye on the injury updates and if the Hawks call up anyone from the College Park Skyhawks today.

Prediction

Even if Risacher, Hunter, and Nance play tonight, the Hawks are going to have a hard time winning this game without Young and Johnson. The defense is going to have to be very good, the three-point shooting has to be better, and players have to rise to the occasion. Atlanta has wins vs Boston and Chicago this year when they are shorthanded, so it is not out of the question that they can pull a surprise in this one. Without knowing the status of the three players in question tonight, I can't pick the Hawks to win against one of the better teams in the Western Conference.

Final Score: Timberwolves 113, Hawks 104

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Hawks vs Timberwolves: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

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Jackson Caudell
JACKSON CAUDELL

Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell