The first thing you notice on the broadcast camera view of this game was not the opposing city edition jerseys. It was not the injury report turned Graecian scroll that prompted the 15th different starting lineup for the New Orleans Pelicans. It was not even the ghost of an overtime thriller. It was the sheer emptiness of the Smoothie King Center in the Big Easy.
Good teams don’t usually leave open seats. While the Pelicans (3-19 before tonight) are clearly not a good team, one would think that a two-time
conference finals appearing team with one of the most marketable stars in the NBA would be more of a draw.
Tonight made abundantly clear why that was not the case.
The Wolves and Pelicans went into halftime tied, much as they had a few nights ago. Instead of an Anthony Edwards heater and assorted defensive plays though, the run that was supposed to come simply felt further and further away. It did come, but it came with a whimper and an exhale.
Edwards was benched for foul trouble. Rob Dillingham saw minutes and continued to struggle to showcase the instant offense that enticed the front office enough to trade up for him. The arena was quiet for both home and away teams. There was simply no energy to be gleaned from the product put on TV. It was a lifeless affair.
For the Pelicans, tonight was an exercise in playing with found money. Jeremiah Fears and Derrick Queen continue to demonstrate an ability to do things, which is arguably the most valuable skillset for your two lottery picks. Trey Murphy keeps proving that he, not the missing Zion Williamson, is the current franchise star. Even Bryce McGowens, a two-way wing with 24 NBA starts to his name, managed to go out there and attack the rim.
So much of the pessimism around the current roster comes from their inability to beat any team over 500. A team that can beat the best of the best but drops games they should’ve won is called inconsistent. Conversely, a team like the Wolves that can only beat up the dregs of the league is called fraudulent. If you think that’s harsh, imagine what happens if Minnesota becomes a team that can’t beat a team like the Pelicans.
All of that is to say, if you wanted optimism, tonight was not the night. That vibe of overcoming, of joy and excitement, was left behind two days ago.
As the lead was left to nine with three minutes left to go, there was nothing worth celebrating, only an empty victory. Even an exciting alley-oop finish between the franchise cornerstones could not drown out the ever-morose Pelicans broadcast.
This is the Sisyphean task that comes with being a winning team. Wins aren’t fun on their own. There is no joy in adding to that first column. Instead, every game becomes a referendum on whether this team is at a championship level or not.
If that is the bar to clear, the Wolves failed. Lucky for them, it is not, and they won tonight. They have months to figure it out, and that alone is a reason for optimism. I would like to remind everyone of the plural losses to the Portland Trailblazers that left Wolves fans feeling like they’d been hollowed out by a melon baller.
On that nice, if bittersweet note, let’s get down to some details.
Jaylen “Nickeil Alexander-Walker” Clark
Let’s try to keep things as positive as possible. As NAW has been blossoming into a genuine starting guard option alongside Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson in Atlanta, the Wolves have been searching for some sort of wing depth after a hugely disappointing start to the season from Terrence Shannon Jr.
Jaylen Clark, the hero of the preseason, started the season out of the rotation. He will not soon be returning to that exile.
Clark has been arguably the Wolves’ fifth-best player and the only one of the bench unit to play with unwavering levels of defensive engagement and rebounding effort. While Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo may be the faces of the second unit, it is Clark who has been its most consistent member.
The better question now is what it means for TSJ. While two wings can certainly coexist, his spot as the heir apparent forward behind all of Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Julius Randle is now dwindling. With fewer and fewer minutes available, either Chris Finch will need to play a longer rotation, which he has been willing to do recently, or Shannon will find himself in the purgatory that Clark was in to start the year.
The Optimism of an Incomplete Team
Naz Reid seemed to find the words I was thinking before we could get it on paper, so I’ll let him say it first.
Everyone, including the team itself, is aware of how bad things have looked recently. I know that no one wants to hear that the team will proverbially “lock in,” but maybe that’s just what we need to do. Maybe it’s time to trust the team that has done this same charade for the past two years.
Look, there are worse places to be than on a 52-win pace. There are teams across the NBA that have done significantly less to deserve blind trust. Hell, there are still Warriors fans who believe in a core of late 30s stars that are two bad ankles away from a midseason spa retreat.
I have fallen into this trap as well.
All I can promise is that a random early December game against the worst team in the conference will not define this team’s season.
Have a nice night, Wolves fans. This was not an important game. It wasn’t interesting either.
Up Next
The Timberwolves head back home for a game against the reeling Los Angeles Clippers, who rank above only the Pelicans in the Western Conference standings and recently sent Chris Paul home as they await either trading or releasing the future Hall-of-Fame point guard.
The game on Saturday begins at 7:00 PM CT at Target Center. Fans can watch the game on FanDuel Sports Network.
