The Atlanta Hawks visit the Target Center to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Nov. 25 and will air on FxS, FNo and C+D.
The Timberwolves were victorious over the 76ers 100-95 on Monday. Andrew Wiggins was the game’s high scorer with 32 points on 10-for-21 shooting. The Hawks, meanwhile, are coming off a 121-97 win over the Celtics on Tuesday. Paul Millsap led the team in scoring with 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting.
Over the last five games, Wiggins has been playing at a high level for the Timberwolves. During that stretch, he has averaged 25.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.2 blocks.
Keep an eye on Minnesota’s ability to get to the charity stripe. The team ranks third in the league in free throw attempt rate (33.9), but Atlanta is among the best in the NBA at keeping opponents off the line (ranking first by allowing a free throw attempt rate of 20.9).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Timberwolves won the first game 117-107. Wiggins scored a game-high 33 points.
The Timberwolves are a three-point underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 205 points. The Timberwolves are looking to improve on their records of 6-8 Straight Up (SU) and 7-7 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 4-5 SU and 5-4 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference. Minnesota has been steady from the free throw line, shooting a superb .799.
Across the court, Atlanta has a SU record of 10-6 and an ATS record of 7-8-1. Although the team has done very well in games against Western Conference foes (3-2), Atlanta sports a lackluster 2-3 record ATS. The Hawks are shooting lights out so far, with a .465 field-goal percentage that ranks fifth in the NBA. The Hawks rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the fifth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league at 1.78. A large part of Atlanta’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 21.6 points per game off turnovers, which ranks first in the league.
Minnesota won the last meeting this season between these two teams, but the Hawks still lead the head-to-head record over the last 10, 7-3 SU. However, the Timberwolves lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-3-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Atl, ATS Winner – Atl, O/U – Over
Notes
Minnesota is 6-19 SU in its last 25 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 6 games at home.
Minnesota is 1-14 SU in its last 15 games at home.
Minnesota is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
Minnesota is 6-2-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Atlanta.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 7 games when playing Atlanta.
Minnesota is 3-15 SU in its last 18 games when playing Atlanta.
Minnesota is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
Minnesota is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Minnesota’s last 20 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
Atlanta ranks 10th in points per game with 102.6, while Minnesota ranks 18th in points allowed with an average of 102.2 given up.
Minnesota ranks 25th in points allowed per home game (105.7 PPG), while Atlanta ranks 13th in points per away game with 100.4.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Atlanta Hawks are a stellar 8-2. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a losing record of 1-3.
When opponents have scored at least 100 points, Atlanta has a poor record of 2-4. When Minnesota has allowed 100 or more points, it has a split 5-5 record.
The Timberwolves have a defensive rating of 100.8 (ranked 11th), while the Hawks rank sixth for their offensive rating of 104.6.
The Atlanta Hawks have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking fifth in the league with a FG% of 46.5%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a subpar 1-5 record.
On average, the Atlanta Hawks make 26.2 assists per game and the Minnesota Timberwolves make 20.5. Atlanta is ranked second, while Minnesota is ranked 21st.
The Minnesota Timberwolves average 4.9 blocks per game for a rank of 17th. The Atlanta Hawks rank higher (14th), earning 5.2 blocks each contest.
Minnesota is ranked 21st in offensive rebounding. Atlanta ranks 25th in defensive rebounds.
The Atlanta Hawks earn an average of 9.6 steals per game and are ranked fourth. The Minnesota Timberwolves have a 2-3 record when they allow at least 9 steals.
