Hawks vs. Timberwolves Odds
| Hawks Odds | +5 |
| Timberwolves Odds | -5 |
| Over/Under | 241 |
| Time | 8 p.m. ET |
| TV | NBA League Pass |
| Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute NBA odds here. | |
The Minnesota Timberwolves and Atlanta Hawks find themselves in the No. 8 seed in their respective conferences and they meet on Wednesday night in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves won the last meeting less than two weeks ago and are 4.5-point favorites, despite not winning a home game since Feb. 5.
The Timberwolves have been a rollercoaster most of the season, but seem to play well against tougher competition. They may be getting back both Anthony Edwards from his short injury and Karl-Anthony Towns from his long layoff.
On the flip side, the Hawks are playing on a back-to-back after dismantling the Detroit Pistons by 26 points on Tuesday. Granted it was the Pistons, but more impressive was they won big without Dejounte Murray, who was ruled out due to illness.
There is a plethora of news to monitor in this matchup, but there is also an edge to be had in the betting market. Let's put another winner on the board.
Atlanta Hawks
It may be tough for the Hawks to catch the Heat in the Eastern Conference standings, but they do need to keep winning to fend off the Raptors and Bulls in order to host a potential play-in tournament game. The Hawks have lost six of their last eight road games, including horrendous losses to the Hornets and Spurs.
The Hawks seem to go as Trae Young goes and he has not been great on the road. The young superstar is averaging 3.1 points per game fewer on the road than at home this season and overall is shooting just 43.4% from the field. On a positive note, he is averaging a career-high 10 assists per game, so playing alongside Murray has provided a significant boost to his production.
Murray is questionable after missing Tuesday night's game, but the Hawks seem to be about the same without him. They are 3-3 when he sits and are surprisingly averaging more points per game. Getting Murray back would help, especially given the Timberwolves can put Jaden McDaniels on Young to slow him down.
Outside of Young and Murray, the Hawks have five other players who are averaging double-digit points per game. As a team, the Hawks are averaging 117.4 points per game, but that total dips down to 110 per game when they are playing on no rest. This is also an island road game as the Hawks will play their next three games at home, so don't be surprised if Murray doesn't play.
Similar to the Hawks, the Timberwolves love to play fast as they rank fifth in pace this season. However, they are also a very strong team defensively as they rank 13th in Defensive Rating. This is not the best matchup for the Hawks, especially if the Timberwolves get their two studs back in the lineup.
Minnesota Timberwolves
After losing three consecutive games, the Timberwolves bounced back with a huge road victory over the Knicks on Monday night. They rallied late and put up a very impressive 140 points against one the league's best defensive units. The big news will be: Do Edwards and/or Karl-Anthony Towns return?
There is a lot of optimism around the possibility that they both return despite this being an island home game for the Timberwolves. They will play their next three games on the road. Quite frankly, they need this victory tonight as their upcoming road trip is against the Warriors, Kings and Suns. Tough test awaits them after this game.
Not having Edwards and Towns on the court has allowed third-year pro Jaden McDaniels to take the next step in his progression. Over the last six games, McDaniels is averaging 18.2 points per game while shooting 52.1% from the field and 50% from behind the arc. He also continues to be an elite defender.
The Rudy Gobert and Towns experiment has yet to flourish. They have played in only 19 games together and the Timberwolves have a record of 9-10 in those games. It will be interesting to see if they start them alongside each other or if Towns comes off the bench seeing as though he's missed nearly four months of action.
The Hawks rank 22nd in Defensive Rating and Rebounding Percentage this season while allowing 117.6 points per game. This is an exploitable matchup for the Timberwolves who are in the logjam of the Western Conference. If Edwards and Towns are back, they should roll against the Hawks who are on a back-to-back. I mean come on, it is also Anthony Edwards Bobblehead Night.
Hawks-Timberwolves Pick
Covering the spread has been an issue for the Timberwolves when they are favorites. They are covering only 38.2% of the time, but in a must-win game at home against the Hawks playing on a back-to-back, I'll take the Timberwolves.
They will likely be getting Edwards and Towns back, while the Hawks may still be without Murray again due to an illness.
Take the Minnesota Timberwolves at -4.5, but I would take them as big as -6.5 in this spot. I would grab this line as soon as possible as we can anticipate both Edwards and Towns being back in the lineup. The vibes will be high and they should run away with this game at the Target Center tonight.
Pick: Timberwolves -4.5 (Bet to -6.5) |
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