Hawks vs Timberwolves: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups

Atlanta picked up their first win of the season on Sunday night in Milwaukee

The Hawks will attempt to have their first winning streak of the season tonight in Atlanta against the Timberwolves. After getting an impressive win last night on the road in Milwaukee, Atlanta can get to .500 with a win tonight, but it is not going to be easy. Minnesota has a talented roster and one of the toughest defenses in the NBA (at least so far). 

Atlanta had a tough first couple of games to start the season, losing on the road to Charlotte (whom they seemingly always struggle with in the regular season) and a loss to the Knicks, who hit 20 three-pointers in the game. The Hawks stepped up their defensive efforts last night, holding Milwaukee point guard Damian Lillard scoreless in the first half and six points overall. 

One thing that the Hawks did differently last night was change the starting lineup. Jalen Johnson started in place of Saddiq Bey and played well. Johnson is one of the Hawks's better perimeter defenders and he makes their transition game much better. He is off to a great start to the season and I would expect him to remain in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future. 

Trae Young tries to score on Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards / Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Trae Young had his best game of the season on Sunday night, scoring 20 points and handing out 11 assists. Young had struggled shooting in the first two games, but his offense was very good last night. 

There was not a Hawk last night that played poorly. Dejounte Murray did a great job of guarding Lillard, Clint Capela had a double-double and played well defensively, and Bogdan Bogdanovic had a good night shooting the ball. 

Hawks Fly Past Giannis and the Bucks in Milwaukee

Playing in back-to-backs is always tough, especially coming back from a road game. Minnesota is 1-1 this season, with a loss to the Raptors and a win over the Heat. 

Minnesota is led by one of the NBA's young superstars Anthony Edwards, who is averaging 22.5 PPG so far this season, shooting 35.7% from the field and 58.3% from three-point range. Rudy Gobert is averaging over 13 RPG and two blocks per game so far. Karl-Anthony Towns is off to a bit of a slow start through two games, averaging 15.5 PPG and shooting 21.4% from three-point range. The low three-point percentage is surprising considering that KAT is one of the best shooters in the NBA. Minnesota has two very good bench players in Naz Reid and Kyle Anderson. 

It has only been two games, but the Timberwolves are the No. 1 rebounding team in the NBA and have the No. 2 defense in terms of PPG allowed. The offense for Minnesota is a different story though. They have the worst offense in the NBA in terms of PPG and they are 26th in field goal percentage. The Hawks have the No. 5 scoring offense in the NBA and it will be interesting to see which side has the advantage. 

Atlanta has not released an injury/availability report ahead of tonight's game. Minnesota has listed Jaden McDaniels as questionable. 

Projected Starting lineups:

Hawks:

G- Trae Young

G- Dejounte Murray

F- De'Andre Hunter

F- Jalen Johnson

C- Clint Capela

Timberwolves:

G- Mike Conley

G- Anthony Edwards

F- Nickeil Alexander-Walker

F- Karl-Anthony Towns

C- Rudy Gobert

Key player to watch on Atlanta: Clint Capela

Capela has had struggles in areas this year (mostly offensively), but he had a really good game against the Bucks on Sunday night. He is going to be tasked with facing Gobert tonight, who is one of the best rebounders and shot blockers in the NBA. Winning the matchup on the glass against Gobert is going to be one of the keys to the game in my opinion. 

Key player to watch on Minnesota: Karl-Anthony Towns

Towns is off to a slow start this season, averaging just 15.5 PPG and shooting poorly from three-point range. He is one of the most gifted big men in the NBA on offense and can do a lot of damage scoring. Whether it is shooting or in the paint, Towns can take over a game with his talent and Atlanta needs to make sure that he does not get going. 

Prediction: 

This is going to be a tough game for the Hawks with it being a back-to-back, they are coming back from a road game, and Minnesota did not have to play yesterday. Those things can make this matchup tilt in favor of Minnesota, but the Timberwolves have not been that impressive this season. They beat the Heat, who did not have Jimmy Butler, and they have had trouble scoring the ball. They are a talented team and it will be a close game, but I think the Hawks can get a win tonight at home. 

Final Score: Hawks 114, Timberwolves 109

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