Who: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
When: Tuesday, March 3, 8:00 p.m ET
Where: Smoothie King Center
How to watch: Fox Sports New Orleans
The Pelicans end their three-game homestand on Tuesday with a home game against a totally reeling Minnesota side. The Timberwolves have lost eight of their last ten games with that span immediately following a 13-game losing streak.
In total, Minnesota has won just two games since Jan. 11, a span closing in on two full months. Making matters worse for the Wolves has been the loss of Karl-Anthony Towns, who is out for another week at the minimum with a broken wrist.
Minnesota did land D’Angelo Russell, who they long sought after, at the trade deadline. But in the eight games since landing him, the team has the second-worst net rating in the league at -9.4, going 1-7 in the span. That rating is weighed down by a defensive rating of 118.8, second-worst in the league in that same span.
Comparatively, the Pelicans, who once ranked in the bottom five of the league in defensive rating during the early months of the season, rank 13th in defensive rating in that span and are up to 21st over the course of the season as a whole.
Since adding Zion Williamson to the rotation, the Pelicans’ +4.8 net rating is 10th in the league. Impressively, their defense over that span is sixth in the league while the offense ranks seventh.
Entering the night, the Pelicans, Blazers and Kings are all 3.5 games back of the Grizzlies for the eight seed.
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