The Minnesota Timberwolves walk into Friday night with a clear edge in the places that usually decide games: shooting, depth of scoring and the kind of defensive size that can turn a talented opponent into a grind. New Orleans has some real firepower of its own, but this matchup looks tilted toward Minnesota before the ball is even tipped.
Minnesota is 6-3 after its 117-107 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. The Pelicans come in at 4-4 after beating the Utah Jazz 120-113 in their last outing. The New Orleans side has the headline names, with Zion Williamson and Dejounte Murray leading the way, but the Timberwolves’ starting group brings more answers on both ends.
With LaMelo Ball, Ayo Dosunmu, Jaden McDaniels, Jonathan Kuminga and Rudy Gobert expected to start for Minnesota, the Wolves have a lineup that can score in a lot of different ways. Williamson is the biggest individual scoring threat in the game at 20.7 points per contest, while Murray is averaging 17.8 and Trey Murphy III 14.3.
That’s a solid top end. Minnesota, though, can spread the burden around.
McDaniels is putting up 17.3 points per game, Dosunmu is at 15.3 and Ball is averaging 14.4. Kuminga adds 12.9 per night, and Bones Hyland gave Minnesota another jolt off the bench with 19 points against Houston. The point is simple: the Timberwolves do not need one guy to carry the offense.
Ball can create off the dribble. Dosunmu can attack closeouts.
McDaniels has grown into a more dependable scorer. Kuminga can get downhill and pressure the rim.
Gobert gives Minnesota an efficient finish option near the basket. Williamson can wreck a defense on his own, but New Orleans has fewer ways to answer back.
The shooting gap may be the sharpest edge Minnesota has. The Timberwolves are hitting 38% from three and averaging 15.1 made threes per game, even without Anthony Edwards.
The Pelicans are at 31.7% from deep and making just nine threes a night. That’s a major difference.
Ball gives Minnesota a high-volume pull-up threat, and McDaniels, Dosunmu and Kuminga can all make defenses pay when they’re left alone. With enough shooting around Gobert, the Wolves can make it tough for New Orleans to simply crowd the paint.
Murphy is the Pelicans’ best answer from long range, and he is probable after dealing with bilateral patella tendinopathy. Even with him available, Minnesota still has more shooting across the board.
Ball also gets more help as a creator than he would in a tighter, more top-heavy lineup. He is averaging 6.3 assists per game, while Dosunmu adds 3.6. McDaniels and Kuminga can create after the first action breaks down, which gives Minnesota multiple ways to keep possessions alive and avoid getting stuck if the initial look disappears.
That matters because New Orleans can’t just load up on Ball and hope the ball leaves his hands. If Fears is on Ball, Minnesota can shift the pressure to Dosunmu.
If the Pelicans switch a bigger defender onto someone, Kuminga can attack that matchup. McDaniels can also make the extra pass instead of forcing the issue.
The Wolves have more counters.
Defensively, Minnesota may have the cleanest advantage of all. McDaniels can handle one of the Pelicans’ perimeter threats, Dosunmu can take on difficult guard assignments and Gobert gives the Timberwolves a major safety net behind everything.
That combination is especially important against Williamson, whose best work comes when he gets downhill and attacks the rim. Gobert can stay behind the play and make those drives harder without Minnesota needing to send extra help every time.
The Pelicans do have defensive talent, especially Herb Jones, but their starting group does not match Minnesota’s blend of size and rim protection. The Wolves should be able to make New Orleans earn a lot more of its points than the Pelicans can force on the other end.
Rebounding is another area where Minnesota can lean on its size. Gobert is averaging 12.3 rebounds per game, and he has plenty of help from athletic guards and forwards who can finish possessions.
McDaniels is grabbing six boards a night, while Kuminga, Ayo and LaMelo all chip in. New Orleans will also be without Yves Missi, who has been ruled out with a left knee contusion/bone bruise, leaving Matković with more to handle against Gobert.
Minnesota doesn’t need to overwhelm the offensive glass for that to matter. If Gobert controls the defensive boards, the Wolves can run before New Orleans gets set. If they also create second chances at the other end, that only piles more pressure on a Pelicans team already dealing with Minnesota’s shooting.
New Orleans has enough talent to make this competitive, but the matchup still leans heavily toward Minnesota, even without Edwards. The Pelicans’ clearest path is straightforward: Williamson has to keep forcing the paint, Murphy has to hit shots and the defense has to keep Ball from settling in as both scorer and playmaker.
That’s a tough ask against a Timberwolves team that has already shown it can punish opponents when both sides of the floor are working. If Minnesota brings the same level it showed against Houston, it has enough advantages to make this a comfortable night.
In Other News...
Pelicans Injury Report Could Change Minnesotas Next Test
The Timberwolves next matchup could look a little different depending on how New Orleans handles its injury report. Trey Murphy III is listed as day-to-day with a patellar injury, while Yves Missi is out with a knee injury, giving Minnesota a possible edge in a game where the Pelicans available rotation may be in flux.
For a Wolves team trying to keep its footing in the early part of the schedule, any change to the Pelicans front line or wing depth matters. New Orleans still brings statistical leaders and enough talent to make this a real test, but Minnesota will be watching closely to see whether the matchup tilts before tipoff. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Edwards Return Could Change Everything For Timberwolves Contention
Ayo Dosunmu had plenty to say in a letter to Timberwolves fans, and most of it centered on what Anthony Edwards brings when he is around the group. Dosunmu praised Edwards trash-talking ability and competitive edge, framing him as the kind of player who changes the temperature of a room just by being in it. He also pointed to the intensity Edwards shows in practice, a reminder that the edge Minnesota leans on in big moments starts long before the game tips.
For a team trying to position itself as a real contender, Edwards absence from knee surgery has been the obvious storyline hanging over everything. Dosunmus message was as much about belief as it was about basketball, expressing optimism about what the Timberwolves can become once Edwards is back in the mix. The larger question now is how quickly that return translates into the kind of late-season push Minnesota has been waiting to make. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Finch Knows Exactly Why The Heat Look So Awkward
Minnesota has lived through the awkward first steps of trying to make two big men work together, so Chris Finch knows the learning curve when he sees it. The Timberwolves spent time sorting out frontcourt combinations with Rudy Gobert alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and later Gobert with Julius Randle, and even if the fit did not come easily at first, the group eventually found enough rhythm to make it work.
Now Miami is dealing with a similar early-season puzzle under Erik Spoelstra, and Finch sees the same kind of growing pains. The Heat have been trying to blend Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, and the start has looked clunky enough to raise eyebrows, but Finchs view is that these things take time and usually come down to players getting more comfortable with one another. [Read more 🡒]