Monday’s game in Atlanta would, at least on paper, seem to not shake out in the Timberwolves favor.
The Hawks were the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs in the spring and are poised to be another giant in the conference this season. They have started out hot, beginning the season with a 7-1 record and they are currently riding a six-game win streak.
Minnesota has shown glimpses of being a low-end Western conference playoff team through five games, but they are clearly not yet at the stature of Atlanta.
Atlanta has been known for molding their team in a similar fashion to the San Antonio Spurs, considering their coach Mike Budenholzer was Gregg Popovich’s right-hand man for 17 seasons.