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NBA Betting: Atlanta Hawks Season Long Handicapping 2/9/2026 vs. Minneaota Timberwolves

by Spencer Toth - 2/9/2026

NBA betting Atlanta Hawks season long handicapping vs Minnesota Timberwolves Rudy Gobert

All year long, Doc’s Sports will be breaking down every Atlanta Hawks game while providing best bets along the way. By dialing in on the Hawks, we will be able to identify matchup advantages we can exploit on the betting odds. It has been a very successful season so far, as we are up more than 35 units on the daily free picks, but the job is far from over as the All-Star break approaches. 
Doc’s Sports offers NBA expert picks for every game on our NBA predictions page.

On Thursday night, the Atlanta Hawks took down the Utah Jazz 121-119 just hours after the trade deadline. They stormed back from down 12 points in the second half despite shooting just 22.9% from behind the arc in the contest. They had four players score 20+ points as it was a real team effort, including Jock Landale in his Hawks debut. It was a crucial home win for Atlanta against a bottom-feeding Jazz side, as they look to hold onto their playoff spot in a razor-tight Eastern Conference. Due to the flurry of moves at the deadline and the cloudy availabilities on gameday, we just had one pick on Thursday, over 126.5 points for the Hawks, which fell short. 

On Saturday night, the Hawks were the red-hot Hornets’ latest victim, as Charlotte won their ninth straight game 126-119. Atlanta was crushed on the glass 49-30, and the Hornets made the most of their extra possessions. Jalen Johnson did his best with a 31-point, 9-rebound, 8-assist showing, but it wasn’t enough as the Hawks' post-deadline depth was stretched too thin. 

Tonight, the Atlanta Hawks (26-28) take a trip up north to take on the ice-cold Minnesota Timberwolves (32-22). Minnesota has lost back-to-back home games against two sub-.500 teams, and the Hawks will be hoping they can pile on the misery for Anthony Edwards and company. This is a fresh Hawks side from the one that blew out the Timberwolves 126-102 on New Year’s Eve, as Atlanta was very busy at the trade deadline. 

The first move they made was moving on from the failed Kristaps Porzingis experiment by picking up Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield from the Golden State Warriors. Porzingis only played 17 games for the Hawks this year, as he battled illnesses and injuries all year long. Atlanta couldn’t justify inking him to a long-term deal in the summer, so they cut their losses and picked up a young stud in Kuminga. The 2022 NBA champion had fallen out of Golden State’s rotation and needed a fresh start at this stage of his career. It feels like Kuminga has been around for years, but he is still only 23 years old and could be the scoring forward the Hawks have been craving. He won’t suit up tonight due to injury, and won’t make his team debut until after the All-Star break. Hield will have a role off the bench for the Hawks, and could make his debut tonight, but he will remain a deep rotation player with minimal upside at this stage of his career. 

Porzingis wasn’t the only player traded by the Hawks, as Luke Kennard made way for Gabe Vincent from the Los Angeles Lakers. Kennard is a lethal shooter from deep with the second-best career three-point percentage of all time, but his lack of defense and other offensive skills made him a liability. Vincent is a more versatile player in the backcourt and is still a solid option from deep for a Hawks side that desperately needs to find consistency in that phase of play. 

For tonight’s matchup against the Timberwolves, the Hawks are fully healthy outside of Kuminga’s absence, and a questionable status for Dyson Daniels, although he should play. Atlanta has been dealing with injury issues all year, and they now finally have a chance to start building chemistry with two months left before the playoffs. A starting five of Daniels, Alexander-Walker, Risacher, Johnson, and Okongwu can compete in the East, and a retooling of their bench has them as a legitimate contender if they can stay healthy. McCollum and Kuminga are two of the best non-starters in the league, and Johnson’s ascension to `All-Star status gives Atlanta the difference-maker they need. 

In tonight’s matchup, the Hawks will have a rest advantage after the Timberwolves played yesterday afternoon against the Clippers. Minnesota got thrashed 115-96 in an embarrassing display, but on the bright side, they were able to rest their starters in the second half of the blowout defeat. The injury report isn’t out yet, but with the Timberwolves as a sizable home favorite and no injuries yesterday, everyone is expected to suit up tonight. 

Minnesota is a dominant team on the inside with Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid commanding the painted area. Rebounding has been a real concern for Atlanta this season, and they can’t expect to pull off this upset if they don’t get active on the glass. Landale’s arrival from Memphis has given the Hawks depth at center, but they will still be unable to run two-big lineups when the Timberwolves opt to play Gobert and Reid at the same time. Johnson will be forced onto one of the bigs, which will see him under the hoop even more often than he is used to. When the Timberwolves only have one of their big men on the floor, Okongwu or Landale will try to lure him away from the hoop to allow Johnson to dominate his matchup inside. The Hawks have a very clear path to victory in this one, and as long as Daniels can suit up to contain Edwards, there is tons of value on the Hawks.
For the first pair of bets tonight, we will take both the Hawks' (+6.5) point spread and their +210 moneyline. Atlanta is 16-13 straight up on the road this season, much better than their 10-15 home record. Minnesota has pretty even splits regardless of the venue, which means that home-court advantage will be negligible for the Timberwolves. Given the rest advantage coupled with Minnesota’s poor form, both the point spread and moneyline are disrespectful to the Hawks. 

For the player props, we will be attacking Okongwu’s three-point line. He has -150 odds for Over 1.5 threes, and +200 odds on over 2.5 threes. He has nailed multiple threes in five straight games and is getting a dream matchup against either Gobert or Reid. His minutes will be safe as the Hawks need his size down low, and even if he starts on the bench for Landale, I still love this prop. 

Finally, we will take Nickeil Alexander-Walker to attempt over 7.5 threes at -140 odds. Alexander-Walker is making his return to Minnesota, and I expect him to consistently fire it from deep tonight. I like his attempts line over his makes line due to the fact that the nerves might be there in Minnesota, and he may try to put up a low-quality shot or two to send a message. His threes made line isn’t bad either, there is just a bit more value in attempts in this specific spot. 

Pick: Atlanta Hawks (+6.5) -105 4 Units

Pick: Atlanta Hawks Moneyline +210 1 Unit

Pick: Onyeka Okongwu Over 1.5 Threes -150 3 Units

Pick: Onyeka Okongwu Over 2.5 Threes +200 2 Units

Pick: Nickeil Alexander-Walker Over 7.5 Three-Pointers Attempted -140 2 Units

2025-26 Season Record:
Moneyline: 11-5

Spread: 16-16

Total: 2-10

Player Props: 36-19

Overall: 66-49

Total Units: Up 35.4 Units 

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