On the hardwood in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, a matchup between two conferences is in the cards. The Atlanta Hawks will play their Wednesday game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road in Minneapolis.
Update Injury Status for Trae Young, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards
Recently, the Hawks (36-36) won a home game against the worst team in the NBA, the Detroit Pistons (109-129).
After scoring just nine points Sunday in Atlanta’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Trae Young went off for 30 points and 12 assists at Detroit, giving him his 35th double-double of his career. That made his 24th game with 30+ point output.
There are 10 games left in the East season, and Atlanta is currently in eighth place, three games behind sixth-place Brooklyn and one game ahead of ninth-place Toronto.
Dejounte Murray is questionable after missing Tuesday’s game with a non-COVID illness, and reserve player Jalen Johnson has missed the last three games with a hamstring and groin sprain.
The Hawks have the advantage in the overall series 40-24, but the Timberwolves won the season opener on the road by a score of 136-115 on March 13.
Despite winning their final game of their recent road trip 140-134 over the New York Knicks, the Timberwolves went 1-2 on the road.
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ chances of making the playoffs would be greatly improved if stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards played on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks.
Edwards, who usually helps the team out with 24.7 points, 5.9 boards, and 4.4 assists per game, had to be helped off the court on Friday against the Chicago Bulls after injuring his right ankle. The last two games he was supposed to play in, he missed.
Towns hasn’t played since late November because of a right calf strain, and he was re-injured in January while he was recovering. Towns has played in 21 games this season, averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 boards, and 5.3 assists per game.
However, the Minnesota Vikings’ head coach, Chris Finch, expressed doubt that both players would return on Wednesday.
Unless something unexpected happens today, Rudy Gobert will likely keep playing. I’m hoping tonight will be the night he finally turns around his recent slump.
The Timberwolves’ homestand against the Hawks will be followed by road games against the Warriors, Kings, and Suns.
T-Wolves (36-37) are currently in a ninth-place tie in the Western Conference, one game behind sixth-place Golden State and the final postseason berth.
