Until just ten days ago the only victory the Pelicans had under their belt had been against the Timberwolves. These two teams are among those that have to play up to four times with each other in the regular phase and three of them have already been completed. The situation has been given time to balance as the two are on the Western Conference leaderboard. Last night the Minnesotans won in Louisiana and make up a series of four games won consecutively. They are progressing tactfully, it is true that they have taken advantage of more affordable dates to achieve victories and this has boosted them, they force the average fan to be aware of them again and with that they must settle.
The aforementioned appointment before the Pelicans was resolved with 96-110 on the scoreboard. Almost absolute clarity. Wille Green’s men have few games in which they really fight for victory, even though Ingram is already reinstated, and that’s the real shame.
In the rotation of those who were local here, changes continue to be made and the Spanish center Willy Hernangómez took advantage of the circumstance to put elbows and take more minutes than expected. And it worked. Willy ended with a double-double and with a single miss in the field goals. He has been placed in front of Jaxson Hayes as a substitute center and tonight he won minutes due to incontinence problems in terms of personal fouls that the holder of the position, the Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas had. They are factors that also play and that can help, although the second is temporary, to see Hernangómez as a more reliable option.
These Timberwolves have caught the good area of ​​the calendar and are taking advantage of it to their advantage. They are one victory away from the balanced balance of wins and losses. It is the thing to do, neither more nor less. But it is true that the perception of what for some was already one of the disappointments of the season has changed. Against the Pelicans he leaned on the break of the second quarter to open a gap that did not stop pouring blood until Green raised the white flag once the fourth quarter was reached. That Valanciunas did not have a comfortable night, leaving continuously due to fouls and without the option of launching the triples that are giving him such a good result when he is against another center who also shoots them (the also powerful Towns), and that Ingram, being the true leader Without Zion still on the court, he finished with a very poor 2/13 in the pitches in play, made the company very complicated for the locals.
Defense, a characteristic that no one who has seen them play would attribute firsthand to the Timberwolves, worked in this game. They forced on the passing lanes and put pressure on the Pelicans and they turned the frustration into fouls that meant points. That and staying in only six triples scored in the era in which we are in the League penalized a lot to the whole of New Orleans, which does not find its way. For Hernangómez it was his day to find him even if the effort was not worth a victory: 19 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes, with that 8/9 in shots, which placed him as the most successful of his team in the game. There is nothing. For a player who was ostracized it is positive, there is no doubt. He faced Towns, whose double-double with 28 points made him pupa, and other players (for example, a surprising Vanderbilt) who ripped the stickers from him and his teammates when they saw the opportunity to launch for the victory.