Only the New Orleans Pelicans can blow out the Los Angeles Clippers and, a few games later, go to overtime against one of the worst teams in the NBA.
Ultimately, the Pelicans beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 140-136 in overtime in what was actually a hard-fought game. Maybe some of you will argue with my denomination of where the Timberwolves are as a team and that’s fair enough.
You can say that they have struggled with injuries and Covid-19 all season long, that they changed their head coach, and that they have barely had their two main stars available. All of those things are true and, when the Timberwolves have D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns on the court at the same time, their record is actually favorable.
At the same time, though, it feels like the same old story in Minnesota. To some extent, the Timberwolves usually tend to disappoint during the regular season, get eliminated from playoff contention, and then look better to end the year. This is a vicious cycle of hope and disappointment, often accelerated by the thrill of getting a top pick in the NBA Draft.
This could happen again this year. The Timberwolves have undisputedly improved under new coach Chris Finch, who has modernized their offense and really started playing through Towns at all times. If they get a top three pick this year and pair them with Towns, Russell, and last year’s number one pick Anthony Edwards, then the future looks a lot better.
But at the end of the day, we have to wait for the results. The same thoughts went through many’s minds when the T’Wolves got Andrew Wiggins or Towns. Nothing changed. It’s too early to tell with Anthony Edwards, but their first season with him is going to end with draft hopes rather than playoff aspirations.
On the New Orleans side of things, the Pelicans were once again without Steven Adams, meaning that Willy Hernangómez got his fifth start of the season. The Pels also couldn’t count on Nickel Alexander-Walker and Josh Hart due to injury, as well as Didi Louzada who is apparently still waiting for his work visa to come through.
Here are the player grades for the Pels’ overtime win against the Timberwolves, starting with my personal MVP:
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Grading the best player
This was one of the tougher decisions I’ve had to make in these columns, but ultimately, I have to give it to Zion Williamson.
It was another incredible outing by the Pels’ all-star. Williamson completely dominated the Timberwolves in every facet of the game and this was especially apparent in overtime. But before we get there, I have to praise Williamson’s willingness to pass against Minnesota.
This was as pass-happy as I have seen him play. That’s not to say that Williamson is not a facilitar. We already know that he can make and execute the right reads after dealing with all the attention he attracts. Against the Timberwolves, though, he tied his career-high eight assists and really should have had more.
Williamson was making great decisions with the ball in his hands all night long. He was especially effective driving, scanning the floor, and then finding the correct teammate to pass to. It’s too bad that some of his great dishes did not get scored on.
Then, from a scoring standpoint, Williamson was typically scary. He scored on 14-of-17 field goals and went to the free throw line fifteen times. That is surely one way to make dropping 37 points look easy.
In overtime, Williamson was genuinely unstoppable. He fouled out Karl Anthony-Towns, Naz Reid, and Jaden McDaniels in consecutive fashion. It was just funny at that point to watch him toy with the Timberwolves’ frontcourt.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Timberwolves: Grades for the guards
Lonzo Ball is what made my above choice very difficult.
Ball had the flamethrower going all night long. After a scorching start from beyond the arc, the former UCLA guard was unforgiving. He splashed three after three, keeping the Pelicans in the game during pivotal moments and making some big time shots. Ball ended with a career-high 33 points.
Beyond his heroics from the perimeter, Ball was solid everywhere else. He was two assists short of another triple-double, made all but one of his six free throws, and also pitched in with three steals.
I enjoyed Ball’s defense in overtime, especially. He had a couple of really good possessions on Anthony Edwards, who I thought the Timberwolves should have looked at more, and played a key role in ensuring this win for the Pelicans.
New Orleans must do everything possible to retain Ball’s services when he becomes a restricted free agent in just a few months.
A pretty solid game for Eric Bledsoe that might be overlooked because of Ball’s incredible night.
However, the former Bucks guard was really steady. His play has been better since the trade deadline and, although the Pelicans should still look to trade him, Bledsoe has not actively hurt the team as he was doing during his first few months in New Orleans.
Bledsoe didn’t force much and just made the correct decisions. He has started to keep his game more simple in recent times, focusing less on launching threes at a high volume and concentrating more on getting downhill.
When Bledsoe is slashing towards the rim, that’s when he is at his most dangerous. He can make some nice passes or draw free throws. Overall, a good performance.
Kira Lewis Jr. didn’t stuff the stat sheet, but he was probably the Pelicans’ best player off the bench.
Lewis kept things ticking when he was on the floor, even if his shot wasn’t falling. He made smart cuts, took care of the ball, and had four assists.
However, I thought the Pels’ rookie struggled on the other end of the floor. Lewis was taken advantage of on defense multiple times. For instance, he gave up an and-1 to D’Angelo Russell or got caught ballwatching on a back cut by Jordan McLaughlin.
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.
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.