New Orleans Pelicans: 3 Keys to Victory Against Minnesota

The New Orleans Pelicans will try to exact revenge on the Minnesota Timberwolves as they continue to chase the eight seed in the Western Conference.

After the last meeting with the Timberwolves the New Orleans Pelicans were left reeling and wondering if their chances at the playoffs had just disappeared.

The New Orleans Pelicans also learned an important lesson about the NBA: games are not played on paper.

The Timberwolves have been bad this season, and the young Pelicans may have overlooked them en route to a primetime matchup with Dallas.

Minnesota made them pay.

The New Orleans Pelicans forgot to play defense and the Timberwolves dropped 139 points on their way to handing the Pelicans a devastating home loss.

It was an ugly effort for the Pelicans, who went into cruise control after taking an early lead and were never able to find the energy on the defensive end.

Tied for the 10th seed, 4.5 games behind Memphis with only 19 games to go, the New Orleans Pelicans definitely cannot afford to drop another game to one of the NBA’s worst teams that is missing their best player, Karl-Anthony Towns.

Five Thirty Eight still gives the Pelicans a 55 percent chance at the playoffs, but if they don’t win today that number may as well be zero.

The Pelicans need to maintain focus, never let their foot off the gas, and not play around with lesser opponents, including the Timberwolves.

Here are three keys to victory on a lovely Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

Learn and Adjust

The New Orleans Pelicans couldn’t stop anyone in the last game against Minnesota. The entire Timberwolves’ starting five scored in double digits and in total Minnesota had eight players with at least 11 points.

The Timberwolves shot 41.2 percent from 3-point range as a team and added 72 points in the paint, two numbers that the Pelicans will have to change if they want to take care of business against Minnesota.

The Pelicans were unable to defend the mid pick-and-roll against Minnesota, which resulted in late rotations that left the Timberwolves (particularly Malik Beasley) open for 3-pointers as well as easy drives to the hoop that often went uncontested.

It was a night to forget for the New Orleans Pelicans’ defense, but if they don’t remember how to guard the pick-and-roll, they are going to get a repeat performance.

Minnesota has a talented backcourt in D’Angelo Russell and Beasley, both of who can score from anywhere on the court. The New Orleans Pelicans must do a better job of going over screens to stop the Minnesota guards from getting open 3-pointers or uncontested drives to the hoop.

If Alvin Gentry and the New Orleans Pelicans do not adjust their pick-and-roll defense then it is going to be another long game.

In the last matchup, the guards for the two teams got off.

The four starting guards scored a combined 104 points, including 51 from the backcourt of Russell and Beasley.

Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday scored 26 and 27 respectively, but would be the first to admit that they were embarrassed by their defensive effort against the Timberwolves.

Beasley was particularly efficient, going 4 of 5 from long-range, and 11 of 13 overall. The Pelicans’ guards did a better job of locking up Russell, but he was still able to go off for 23 points and eight assists.

Stopping the ball and being more aggressive on the pick-and-roll will be key for the Pelicans’ defenders, particularly Ball and Holiday, who must do a better job of slowing down the Timberwolves’ guards.

Minnesota’s offense flows through the two guards and the rest of the team was the recipient of their effective dribble penetration and shooting.

The Pelicans have to do a better job of closing out on Beasley in particular, as he had far too many looks like this in the last game.

Without Towns, the Timberwolves do not have a very dynamic or versatile offense, so it really just comes down to stopping the guards.

Ball and Holiday need to take this personally and dig in defensively. Yes, they went off for 53 points in the last game, but they were nullified by poor defense which has to improve in today’s game.

The New Orleans Pelicans got next to nothing from their bench in the last matchup and this was a big problem.

The Timberwolves are not a particularly deep team, so the Pelicans need to dominate their bench and extend leads when the second unit comes into the game.

This starts with the combination of Josh Hart and Nicolo Melli, who have both been ice-cold in recent games. Hart did go off for 19 points and 12 rebounds against the Heat on his birthday, but prior to that he’d been slogging through his worst slump of the season, shooting just 19.3 percent from 3-point range in their previous six games.

Same goes for Melli, who has lost his stroke after having a big game against the Golden State Warriors. Since then, Melli has gone a staggering 6 for 30 from 3-point range for just 20 percent.

Hart seemed to re-discover his confidence and 3-point stroke in the last game, including this dagger near the end of the game.

Hart was aggressive and didn’t hesitate when he got the ball. This is the Hart that the Pelicans will need over the rest of the season if they are going to have a chance.

Same goes for Melli, who hasn’t been able to buy a hoop over the last six games. He gets a ton of open looks via Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram double teams, and Melli has to knock them down.

In the last matchup, Melli and Hart combined for just 16 points, going 1 of 12 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Minnesota bench had three players in double figures, including James Johnson, who dropped 19 points, six rebounds and five assists while nearly single-handedly outscoring the Pelicans’ bench.

The New Orleans Pelicans are deeper and better and they need to play like it. Someone of the trio of Hart, Melli and Frank Jackson need to step up and give the Pelicans some offense in the absence of sharpshooter J.J. Redick.

The New Orleans Pelicans are running out of time, which makes this a must-win against Minnesota. If the Pelicans can learn and adjust, slow down the Minnesota guards and win the battle of the bench, then they should be able to handle the shorthanded Timberwolves.

Happy Sunday and enjoy the game!