New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for overtime win vs. Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Timberwolves: Grades for the wings

Brandon Ingram had one of his worst games of the season, but the New Orleans Pelicans still managed to win without him.

Ingram was lackluster on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he just didn’t get into a rhythm at all during his 40 minutes on the court. He was taking the shots he always does, but they were not going in. Ingram was 4-of-17 from the field and he even missed half of his free throws, which is unlike him.

Sometimes, the ball just doesn’t go in. This was apparent in the fourth quarter, as Ingram failed to convert a couple of really easy bunnies at the rim.

On defense, Ingram also disappointed. He has been bad defensively during the entire season, often getting caught ballwatching and not leveraging his length as well as he could. This happened once again against the Timberwolves.

Still, Ingram made a big defensive play down the stretch which deserves credit. With a minute left and the Pels down two, Ingram stopped a point-blank layup from D’Angelo Russell, which gave New Orleans the chance to tie the game.

A subpar night from Naji Marshall, but he was still the bench player with the best plus-minus.

Marshall was making the right decisions on offense in terms of creating for himself, but they just didn’t pay off. The former Xavier standout got to the rim a few times like he usually does and the ball did not go in.

Still, he did some good things for the Pelicans. He made two threes—something important for him—and got four assists, one block, and one steal.

The new toy shine on Marshall has sort of worn off because he is now a regular fixture in the rotation rather than an exciting newcomer, but that should not detract from how good he has been. Marshall has played himself into having an important role next season.

It was a similar story for James Johnson, who took the correct decisions on attack and didn’t get much to show for it

Johnson was handy putting the ball on the floor and driving to the rim. He had a couple of good takes and one really nice reverse layup.

The difference between Johnson and Marshall was defensively. Marshall wasn’t outstanding or anything, but he did his role. Meanwhile, it felt to me like Johnson was always one step behind. This isn’t worrying, but it’s just what sometimes comes when you are a veteran wing that no longer has the same pep in his step.

Wenyen Gabriel continues to get some spot minutes here and there for the Pels, which is a slight upgrade over the garbage time he received to start his season.

But while I enjoyed what the South Sudan man brought to the table over the last few games, he was not good against the Timberwolves. Gabriel had an untimely turnover right under the Pels’ own basket and also picked up a quick personal foul.

In his three minutes of game time, the Pels were outscored by nine points.