Something seems to be off with the Minnesota Timberwolves. That’s the bad news.
The good news, veteran forward Julius Randle said, is that the Timberwolves still have time to snap back into shape as the regular season winds down.
“We’ve just got to get our energy back, man — our swag,” Randle said. “It’s crunch time in the season, and we’re kind of pressing … The energy is off. It’s funky. We’re not playing with that same spirit or the same confidence. We’ve got to find a way to get our swag back and just go out and dominate like we’ve been.”
Minnesota (40-31) will aim for a better result when it tips off against the New Orleans Pelicans (19-51) for the second time in three days Friday night in Minneapolis.
The teams played on the same court on Wednesday night, when the Pelicans prevailed 119-115. Zion Williamson, who scored 29 points on 12-for-16 shooting in that game, was downgraded to out for Friday’s rematch due to a low back contusion.
Wednesday’s game marked the second straight loss for the Timberwolves, who are jockeying for playoff position in a competitive Western Conference. The back-to-back defeats followed eight straight wins for Minnesota.
“It’s weird,” Anthony Edwards said. “We’ll be all right. We’ll bounce back.
“We’ve been playing great for maybe three weeks. I don’t know what happened, but something happened with all of us. We’ll figure it out, hopefully sooner than later.”
Edwards leads the Timberwolves with 27.6 points per game on 44.1 percent shooting, including 40 percent from beyond the 3-point line. Randle is next with 18.7 points per game, and Naz Reid ranks third with 14.6 points per game.
CJ McCollum is the second-leading scorer among active players on the Pelicans. He is averaging 20.9 points per game on 44.1 percent shooting, including 37.5 percent from long distance.
New Orleans coach Willie Green said his team had plenty to gain in the final month of the regular season even though they’ve already been eliminated from postseason contention.
“We’re playing against teams that are preparing to play in the playoffs,” Green said. “That’s an opportunity for guys to step on the floor and see where they measure up. The non-negotiables for us is we’ve got to compete at a high level and play together. Work and outwork and continue to go after it and have fun doing that.”
This will be the Pelicans’ second game since forward Trey Murphy III sustained a season-ending injury. Murphy tore the labrum in his right shoulder earlier this week against the Detroit Pistons.
“You try to move forward,” Green said. “It’s by committee. That won’t be on one particular player. Guys will do it together. That’s part of the beauty in basketball is you get a chance to step on the floor together and get after it. We’ll need guys to step up in Trey’s absence.”
Minnesota is 20-16 at home this season. New Orleans is 7-28 on the road.
–Field Level Media
