NBA Many absences in Minnesota due to covid-19
LThe Atlanta Hawks beat some Timberwolves 108-97 decimated by casualties related to covid-19 and that left Minnesota’s main man, Karl Anthony Towns, out of the game after contracting the disease that caused his death last year to his mother.
The casualties of Karl Anthony Towns (KAT), Rubio and Hernangmez, the first one ill with covid-19 and the two Spaniards due to the health protocols of the pandemic, anticipated that the game against the Hawks was going to be an uphill battle.
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The forecasts were confirmed with the final horn. Without the 22 points and 12 rebounds on average per game that KAT brings to his team, the Wolves have nothing to do.
In a game in which both teams showed their weaknesses more than their successes, the Hawks finished with 13 more rebounds than Minnesota’s (58-45) and an efficiency of 46.8% on two-point shots versus 40. % of the Wolves.
As Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders recognized late in the game, with such a rebounding deficiency it is impossible to win a game.
And it is that the Minnesotans arrived at the State Farm stadium in Atlanta with a disastrous record after losing eight of the last nine games and seriously affected by the pandemic. The game that the Timberwolves had to play Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies was suspended because the team did not have the minimum number of eight players that the NBA requires.
With these numbers, it’s not surprising that Ricky’s are the last team in the Northwest Division, now with nine losses and three wins.
The Hawks weren’t getting much better. They were ranked third in the Southeastern division, with seven losses and five victories. And as of today, the team had lost six of the last seven games. But at least covid-19 hasn’t affected them as much as the Timberwolves.
Even with the Timberwolves’ absences, the Hawks had a harder time than expected to decisively dominate the Minnesotans.
The game started in a hesitant way, without any basket during the first two minutes until the Timberwolves pvot Naz Reid starred in a spectacular dunk that opened the scoring. In those early days, the Wolves were five points ahead (6-11) with 7.30 remaining.
But Atlanta’s men were able to endorse a 12-0 run in two minutes that sentenced the first quarter and the game later, as Minnesota never again regained the lead on the scoreboard.
The first 12 minutes ended at 29-25 for the Hawks, whose most effective men were power forward Clint Capela with 6 points and 6 rebounds, and John Collins, with the same points. Among Minnesotans, point guard D’Angelo Russell was the most effective, with 8 points and two assists.
The second quarter followed the same trend. With no KAT on the court, Capela dominated under the boards as forward De’Andre Hunter and point guard Trae Young began to exploit the many gaps in Minnesota’s defense.
In the Wolves, the role of leader falls on the men of guard D’Angelo Russell, accompanied by Mike Beasley.
The two teams went to the locker room with a 58-51 score.
At the restart, Minnesota came out with a little more motivation on defense, though without improving scoring efficiency. In the third period the two teams made 20 points, with Hunter scoring 9 points while Capela took a break.
At the beginning of the fourth period the scoreboard indicated a 7-point lead (78-71) for Atlanta. But although the difference was recoverable, the Minnesota bench shortage sentenced the game that ended with 108-97 and Russell as the leading scorer, with 31 points, followed by Hunter, 25 points, and Capela, 23.
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