New Orleans Pelicans: Grades for overtime win vs. Timberwolves

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Timberwolves: Grades for the bigs

Willy Hernangómez got the start again because of Steven Adams’ injury and made the most of his opportunity.

The Spanish big was tremendous for the New Orleans Pelicans against the T’Wolves. Hernangómez got another double-double, his third in four games, but it was the maturity of his performance that impressed me the most.

Hernangómez got three fouls early in the first half and quickly checked out, but then he made sure to not be in foul trouble for the remainder of the contest. This is tough to do against a team with an elite center like Karl-Anthony Towns and a really physical driver like Anthony Edwards.

The Pelicans center patrolled the paint effectively and then made himself known on the offensive end, especially in the paint. Not only did Hernangómez have six offensive rebounds, but he was a constant menace in the dunker spot where his teammates found him time and time again.

The only reason Hernangómez does not get into A territory is because of his fouls early in the game and because he sometimes struggled to defend Towns on the perimeter. That was to be expected, though.

Jaxson Hayes had a better game on offense than on defense.

When the Pelicans were attacking, Hayes was honestly really good. He was 4-of-6 from the field and converted all five of his free throws.

Hayes is such an easy fit in the NBA because of his bounciness and great hands, meaning that you can just throw the ball to him and he will get it. In this game, he also showed off some of his more tantalizing ball skills, as he faked a hand-off and then drove to the rim to draw the foul.

But on defense, the Texas big man struggled. He wasn’t always in the right place to guard pick-and-rolls, had trouble stepping out to the perimeter, and continued to show why his lack of physicality is still alarming. Hayes was displaced a few times at the rim by Naz Reid and Karl Anthony-Towns.