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Scouting Report | Wolves vs. Pelicans
The Game
This could be your first chance to see the new members of the Timberwolves.
Robert Covington and Dario Saric weren’t allowed to practice on Tuesday (they weren’t cleared to play yet by the NBA, Julian Andrews has more on this here), but coach Tom Thibodeau expects the two should be able to get work in during Wednesday’s shootaround. We’ll know closer to game time on their availability.
Of course the availability of those two players – two starters in Philadelphia – changes the whole outlook on this game, so it’s hard to do too much of a deep dive without knowing their status.
The Wolves go into the game with a 5-9 record, but they are 5-1 at home. Minnesota is coming off a home win over the Nets on Monday night in which Karl-Anthony Towns and Jeff Teague each finished with double-doubles.
The Pelicans are 8-6, eighth in the West. New Orleans has won its last three games after losing its previous six.
What: Wolves vs. Pelicans
When: 7 p.m. CT
Where: Target Center
Watch: Fox Sports North, ESPN
Listen: 830 WCCO
Tickets
Unleash Towns
Kind of like we expected, Karl-Anthony Towns stepped up in the team’s first game after trading Jimmy Butler. Towns finished with 25 points and 21 rebounds in Monday’s win over the Nets, his sixth-career 20/20 game.
In four games without Butler this season, Towns has averaged 26.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. That's not a coincidence. I’d expect this type of performance from Towns the rest of the season. Towns is an efficient player, especially as of late. In four of his last five games he’s shot 53 percent or better.
He’ll go up against Anthony Davis in this one. Things always get interesting when Towns faces off against former Kentucky teammates. It’s a weird brotherly rival thing.
In four games against New Orleans last season, Towns struggled a bit, averaging 14 points and 11.8 rebounds.
Davis averaged 23.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in those same games.
We’ll see if Towns can snap out of his funk against Davis in this one. If not, the Wolves will need one of their secondary scorers on offense (Andrew Wiggins, Derrick Rose or Teague) to step up.
More Moore
Guard E’Twaun Moore has been a great fit with the Pelicans. In his third season with the team, he’s averaging a career-high 14.8 points per game while shooting a lights-out 56.2 percent from the field and 48.8 percent from the 3- point line. He’s coming off a 30-point eruption against the Raptors, shooting 13-for-18 from the field and 3-for-5 from the 3-point line.
When it comes to underdogs in the NBA, we don’t talk about Moore as much as we should. This guy was the 55th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and has turned into a 30-minute per night player on a playoff team. That’s pretty remarkable.
If he gets hot, the Wolves could be in trouble.
Injury Report:
Wolves: Jerryd Bayless (knee) is out. Covington (acquired) and Saric (acquired) are questionable.
Pelicans: Alexis Ajinca (knee) is out. Elfrid Payton (ankle) and Nikola Mirotic (ankle) are questionable.
Projected Starting Lineups:
Wolves: PG - Teague, SG – Rose, SF – Wiggins, PF – Gibson, C - Towns
Pelicans: PG – Holiday, SG – Moore, SF – Johnson, PF – Randle, C - Davis