The Minnesota Timberwolves carried an impressive six-game winning streak into Louisiana as they took on the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. The Timberwolves had a chance to improve to seven straight wins, which would tie their season-best streak. Instead, Minnesota fell short, 107-121, as they were without Anthony Edwards after aggravating his hip injury last time out against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The short-handed Timberwolves were ran too thin to keep up with the Pelicans as star forward Zion Williamson exploded for 36 points on 13-17 shooting and five rebounds. Here are our major takeaways from the Wolves’ crushing loss to Zion and the Pelicans.
Defensive coverage on Zion
Minnesota made it a priority to pressure Zion in an attempt to not use open space as a runway to the rim. However, Williamson’s athletic profile was too much to handle as the Wolves’ perimeter defenders were oftentimes blown by and beat downhill. Minnesota’s point of attack defense was lackluster as Zion was able to get to his left hand frequently in a variety of ways.
First of all, Minnesota didn’t deny Williamson his left hand in any capacity. When Zion drives left, he is devastating to defenses which proved true Monday night.
Equally impressive is Williamson’s ability to get back to his left hand on right-hand drives. Without forcing a direction, the Wolves were at Williamson’s mercy as a driver. Minnesota was oftentimes chasing Williamson and their over-pursuit allowed him to spin back to his right hand multiple times.
Zion’s finishing ability was on full display, especially with Rudy Gobert in early foul trouble. With Minnesota’s defensive anchor off the court, Zion made the league’s best defense look helpless. His combination of strength, athleticism and touch dominated the matchup.
On the night, Williamson finished as a +26 plus-minus as the engine to the New Orleans’ offensive attack. The Pelicans’ star did not attempt a single three-pointer in the game as his strengths countered the Wolves’s defensive aspirations.
The offense struggles without Anthony Edwards
It can be difficult for any NBA franchise to perform without their go-to offensive star. The Timberwolves fell victim to that Monday night in New Orleans. The Wolves searched for Karl-Anthony Towns to lead the way, but the Pelicans executed their game plan to perfection. On every post touch, the Pelicans loaded up heavily on Towns.
KAT faced numerous double teams as Willie Green and New Orleans made it obvious they were going to force Towns to give up the rock. Consequently, Towns was efficient, but didn’t shoot as frequently as the Wolves needed without Ant. On the night, the seven-footer shot 5-11 and finished with 17 points.
With Towns often being forced into passing, the other Wolves’ starters did not step up. The other four Minnesota starters combined for just 37 points on a collective 14-35 shooting effort. On multiple occasions this season, we’ve seen a bevy of Wolves’ starters step up when needed, but Monday night was not their night. Gobert’s foul trouble coupled with some tough shooting luck across the board left the Wolves missing Edwards badly.
A number of positives for the Timberwolves
Even with everything that went wrong on Monday night, Minnesota should feel very good about itself. Sans Edwards, the Wolves remained competitive with a talented and healthy Pelicans team. Minnesota’s bench unit strongly outperformed New Orleans as Jaden McDaniels’ return to action marked a significant moment for the Wolves. McDaniels tallied 12 points in his first 27 minutes back from injury.
Naz Reid poured in 17 points of his own as he’s been an essential piece off the bench not only Monday night, but all season long. Minnesota’s bench production is a continued positive sign from recent outings as free agency addition Shake Milton looks more comfortable by the day. The Wolves’ bench combined for an impressive 53 points in the loss.
Another brief positive for the T-Wolves Monday night was their zone defense. The 2-3 zone has been a nice little tool for Chris Finch to go to when the Wolves need to shift the game in their favor. While Minnesota doesn’t run a lot of zone, their ability to pivot to it is essential in finding deep postseason success against the very best offenses in the association.
The Wolves zone usage offered that nice change of pace Monday night. While the man-to-man defense struggled uncharacteristically, the Wolves were able to string together stops at points due to their ability to change their defensive look.
After a tough end to their six-game win streak, the Wolves will look to start up another good stretch of basketball. The number one seed Wolves are at the beginning of a long stretch against good teams. Their next three battles feature Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, Tyrese Halliburton and the red-hot Indiana Pacers and former Timberwolf Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat.
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