The Minnesota Timberwolves host the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday night at Target Center and will be without point guard Derrick Rose, who is dealing with left knee soreness. However, newcomer Robert Covington will make his Timberwolves debut and enter the starting lineup with Rose out.
Minnesota acquired Covington in the Jimmy Butler trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, along with Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round pick.
Tom Thibodeau says Derrick Rose (left knee soreness) is out tonight. Robert Covington will start
— Ashish Mathur (@amathur25) November 14, 2018
Dario Saric will come off the bench. Jeff Teague and Andrew Wiggins will both play despite nagging ailments.
Teague, Wiggins, Covington, Gibson and Towns starting for the Wolves tonight.
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) November 15, 2018
Derrick Rose, 30, has undergone two knee procedures on his left knee and been playing a lot of minutes lately, so it’s understandable that the former league MVP is dealing with some soreness. The Timberwolves are going to miss his speed and scoring against the Pelicans.
In 13 games this season, Rose is averaging 19.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting 45.7 percent from the field, 48.8 percent from beyond the arc and 82.7 percent from the free-throw line. Minnesota is a plus-3.3 when Derrick Rose is on the floor and a minus-17.0 when he’s not, per NBA.com.
Regarded as one of the most underrated players in the NBA, Robert Covington is a great 3-and-D player. He is expected to space the floor well for the Timberwolves, who don’t really have many consistent 3-point shooters. With the Sixers this season, Covington was averaging 11.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 42.7 percent from the field, 39.0 percent from beyond the arc and 73.9 percent from the free-throw line.
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