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Odds and Ends from Last Night’s Wolves Win Over Pelicans

Seems like we should hold on to these good feelings as long as we can, which might only be until tomorrow night but still.

By Eric in Madison
NBA: New Orleans Pelicans at Minnesota Timberwolves Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

In honor of KAT’s 23rd birthday:

Let’s hear what he had to say about his new teammates last night:

And also, let’s enjoy this fantastic sequence from last night:

Please note: Meyer’s tweet game was freaking fantastic last night. I had to publish these on the site.

Elsewhere:

In 10 minutes on the court together last night, Robert Covington and Josh Okogie (RoCo and Oko...please someone tell me who to credit for this) the team defensive rating was 42.9. Just thought that was fun.

Here is the fantastic Okogie sequence early in the fourth quarter:

I really hope Okogie’s playing time is not a casualty when everyone is healthy; his energy is great for the team and he’s earned his way onto the court.

Devine wrote a nice piece about the new look Wolves for the Ringer today that’s worth checking out for some good feelings.

The team really could not score without Towns on the court, with a 63.3 offensive rating. 117 with Towns on the court.

The Wolves won all four factors last night, which is pretty rare. Neither team shot well, but the Wolves three pointers were a big difference (14-32). Most notably, it was one of their best defensive rebounding games of the season—they grabbed over 78 percent of the available defensive rebounds, compared to their awful season average of just under 70 percent, which is last in the league.

Wings helping out on the boards was a key I thought. Covington, Wiggins, and Okogie combined for 14 defensive boards.

Despite a team leading +16, Tyus Jones played only 11 minutes last night. He didn’t do much, though the team played it’s best defense with him on the court. Given that Derrick Rose was out, this doesn’t bode well for Jones’ future playing time when and if everyone is healthy.

We also might see Gorgui Dieng’s time get reduced even further if Saric plays more than 20 minutes. That probably means time for Taj Gibson at center, pushing Dieng further down the bench.

Last night was as much fun as I’ve had watching the Wolves all season. Hopefully it continues, though I expect some difficult days ahead.