The Atlanta Hawks will try to get off the turnover train on Monday when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second leg of their four-game homestand.
The Hawks have committed the third-most turnovers in the NBA at 16.5 per game, but the last two contests they have easily surpassed that number. Atlanta had 23 turnovers in a 133-126 overtime loss to San Antonio on Thursday and 25 in a 128-112 home loss to Memphis on Saturday. The Hawks have lost three in a row.
“I think (Saturday) there were a lot of careless turnovers, just trying to get something quick and easy, as opposed to being disciplined and working a little harder than you may have to,” Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said. “We were getting some tipped and I think that is directly related to the lack of precision that we had in some of those possessions.”
It didn’t help that the Hawks were playing without Trae Young, who sat out with a bruised right heel. Young leads the league with 12.2 assists per game, but Snyder wasn’t ready to use his absence as an excuse.
“I don’t want to take any of that off of us,” Snyder said. “I think we can be better and need to better.”
It is uncertain whether Young will be available for Monday’s game. In 12 career games against Minnesota, Young has averaged 30.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 9.5 assists.
The Timberwolves have lost two straight, falling to Golden State 113-103 at home on Saturday, but have won six of their last nine games. Minnesota is starting a three-game road trip in Atlanta.
Minnesota’s problem hasn’t been turnovers, it’s been lack of offensive consistency. They scored only 15 points in the first quarter and 37 in the first half in the loss to Golden State. The Timberwolves rank tied for 22nd in the NBA with 109.4 points per game.
Anthony Edwards, who leads the team with 25.6 points per game, has been frustrated by the level of play.
“We don’t have (anything) on offense. We don’t have no identity,” Edwards said. “We know I’m going to shoot a bunch of shots. We know (Julius Randle) is going to shoot a bunch of shots. And that’s all we know.”
Randle averages 20.1 points, but the next-closest scorer is Naz Reid at 12 points per game.
“It’s not on our coaches at all. It’s on us,” Edwards said. “We’re out there playing. We’ve got to make it easier for each other. Coaches put us in great positions to, we just don’t do it.”
Offense hasn’t been a problem for the Hawks, as long as Young is in the lineup. He leads the team at 21.6 points per game, but De’Andre Hunter averages 20.1 and Jalen Johnson averages 19.5. The Hawks rank eighth in the league with 116.4 points per game.
Atlanta will continue to be without backup center Onyeka Okongwu for at least another week because of left knee soreness. Minnesota’s Luka Garza (left ankle) and Joe Ingles (left calf) both missed the Golden State game and are listed as day-to-day.
This will be the first of two meetings between the teams this season. They split last year, with each team winning on their home court.
–Field Level Media
