This Wednesday, the (16-18) Minnesota Timberwolves will travel to New Orleans, LA to take on the (21-12) New Orleans Pelicans. Tipoff will be at 8:00 PM EST inside the Smoothie King Center. These two teams have not matched up yet this season, but I am still expecting a battle in this one.
The Timberwolves are coming into this one after falling to the Miami Heat, 113-110. They struggled on the defensive end of the floor, as they couldn't get enough stops to win that game. They will have to apply more pressure in this one if they want to challenge the Pelicans on the road.
The New Orleans Pelicans are entering this matchup after defeating the Indiana Pacers, 113-93. They looked elite on the defensive end of the court, as they held Indiana to 25.7% shooting from behind the arc. They will have to stay efficient on the defensive end if they want to challenge Minnesota at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are currently in 11th place in the Western Conference standings, as they are still six games back from the first-place Denver Nuggets. On offense, they are scoring 114.6 points per game and they are shooting 49.1% from the floor. This is the third-highest team shooting percentage and the 11th most points scored per contest. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Timberwolves have an adjusted offensive rating of 112.3, which is the 20th-highest rating in the NBA. Anthony Edwards continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 23.4 points per game on 46.4% shooting from the field. The T-Wolves have also shot 34.4% from deep, which is the 22nd-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. They have also struggled to consistently knock down shots at the charity stripe. They have shot 77.5% from the line, which is the 20th-highest free throw shooting percentage in the NBA. They can& #39;t miss out on these free points and still expect to consistently win these games.
On the defensive end of the court, the Timberwolves have struggled to keep their opponents off the scoreboard. According to dunksandthrees.com, Minnesota has an adjusted defensive rating of 113.8, which is the 19th-lowest rating in the NBA. They are also allowing 115.6 points per game and their opponents have shot 45.9% from the floor. This is the 22nd least amount of points surrendered per game and the seventh-lowest shooting percentage allowed. Minnesota has done a great job of defending the rim, but their perimeter defense has hurt them at different times. They are allowing their opponents to shoot 36.7% from deep, which is the 25th-highest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. The Timberwolves will also have to continue crashing the offensive and defensive glass. They are snatching 42.6 rebounds per game, which is the 21st most in the league.
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Injury Report: Kyle Anderson SF () is questionable. Jordan McLaughlin PG (Shoulder), Taurean Prince PF (Calf), and Karl Anthony-Towns C (Calf) are out.
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