Two teams from different conferences meet on the hardwood in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The Atlanta Hawks are away from home on Wednesday, meeting the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis.
Hawks vs. Timberwolves injuries: 4 Questionable, 1 Out
Star players Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards may play a role in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ lineup on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks, which would be great news for the team’s chances of making the playoffs.
Edwards, who normally contributes 24.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game, was forced to be helped off the court on Friday after injuring his right ankle in a match against the Chicago Bulls. He has been absent for the last two contests.
Towns has been out of action since late November due to a right calf strain, and he was re-injured in January while on the mend. In 21 games this year, Towns is averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.
Chris Finch, the coach for the Minnesota Vikings, cast doubt on the idea that both players would return on Wednesday.
“They’re both in evaluation periods and they’re definitely on separate timelines,” he told WCCO-AM in Minneapolis. “Whether those timelines end up coming together at the same point, I’m not sure. They’re very different.”
What Finch had to say about Edwards, “Ant always wants to play. He never thinks he’s hurt, so hopefully it is feeling better, which he says it is. But in terms of pain tolerance, range of movement, stability, all those things, I think we’re trying to figure out where that really is with him.”
On Tuesday’s injury report, the team said both players were questionable. Towns previously had been listed as out.
Rudy Gobert is expected to continue playing today barring any unforeseen circumstances. I’m crossing my fingers that he can turn around his recent poor performance tonight.
The Timberwolves ended their recent road trip with a 140-134 victory over the New York Knicks, but they lost two of the three games they played.
Once they’ve played at home against Atlanta, the Timberwolves will hit the road again to take on the Warriors, Kings, and Suns.
T-Wolves (36-37) is tied for ninth place in the Western Conference but is only one game behind sixth-place Golden State, which occupies the final guaranteed playoff spot.
The Hawks (36-36) recently defeated the last-place Detroit Pistons (109-129) in their home court.
Trae Young, who put up just nine points Sunday in Atlanta’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs, scored 30 points and added 12 assists at Detroit for his 35th double-double. It was his 24th game with 30-plus points.
Currently, with 10 games left, Atlanta is in eighth place in the East, three games behind sixth-place Brooklyn and one game ahead of ninth-place Toronto.
Reservist Jalen Johnson has been out for three games with a left hamstring and groin sprain, and Dejounte Murray may not play after missing Tuesday’s game with a non-COVID illness.
The Hawks lead the all-time series 40-24, but the Timberwolves won the first game of the season on the road by a score of 136-115 on March 13.
Hawks injuries:
- Dejounte Murray (Illness) – Questionable
- Jalen Johnson (Hamstring) – Out
Timberwolves injuries:
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Calf) – Questionable
- Jaylen Nowell (Knee) – Questionable
- Anthony Edwards (Ankle) – Questionable
