Over the past few weeks, it looked like the Minnesota Timberwolves were turning a corner. They were in the middle of an eight-game winning streak and they had a six-game homestand, setting up some very nice conditions for them to extend their winning streak and therefore keep in step with the Golden State Warriors in their quest to make it to the top-six of the Western Conference standings. Instead, the Timberwolves trip on banana peels in consecutive games, following up their overtime defeat to a shorthanded Indiana Pacers team with an even more brutal loss to the injury-ravaged New Orleans Pelicans, 119-115.
The Timberwolves missed two crucial opportunities to improve their record and they fall to eighth in the standings for the meantime as a result. After the game, Julius Randle pointed out a major problem for the team that they will have to resolve in the coming days if they were to remain within striking distance of an outright playoff spot in the West.
“The energy is off, it’s funky, we’re not playing with that same spirit or the same confidence. We’ve got to find a way to get our swag back and just go out and dominate like we’ve been,” Randle said, per Christopher Hine of The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Indeed, there were plenty of moments on Wednesday night where the Timberwolves played with so much lethargy and so much disconnect on the defensive end. It’s inexcusable for a team with Rudy Gobert patrolling the paint to allow the Pelicans to score 54 points in the paint — with Zion Williamson carving up the team over and over again to the tune of 29 points on the night.
The good news is that the Timberwolves have a chance to redeem themselves on Friday night, as they have a rematch against the Pelicans at home looming.
Timberwolves suffer defensive issues in loss vs. Pelicans
The Timberwolves pride themselves in being among the best defensive teams in the association. Their performance on Wednesday, however, was very uncharacteristic. They allowed the Pelicans to attack the basket over and over again, with Zion Williamson finishing at the rim with ease all night long, and New Orleans ended up shooting 52.8 percent on the night.
On nights where Anthony Edwards’ shot isn’t falling (he went 5-17 from the field), the Timberwolves have to rally around their defense, which is something they failed to do in a bad loss to a Pelicans team that entered the night with an 18-51 record.
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