MINNEAPOLIS – If not for an O.J. Anunoby jumper in the final minute of Monday’s game at Toronto, New Orleans’ three best defensive efforts points-wise of the 2018-19 regular season all would’ve taken place in the squad’s three most recent games. That statistic illustrates the progress the Pelicans seem to be making at that end of the floor during a three-game winning streak, an area where they struggled while dropping six straight games.
“(We are) helping each other out,” Pelicans wing E’Twaun Moore said of one factor. “Defense is a team effort. It’s not always about individual effort all the time. I think us being on the same page and not leaving a guy on an island by themselves (helps explain the improvement).”
While going 3-0 since Nov. 7, New Orleans (7-6 overall) has allowed 100.7 points per 100 possessions, sixth in the NBA. The Pelicans are also second in offensive efficiency (115.0) during that timeframe, behind only Milwaukee (119.1). They are one of three 3-0 teams over the past seven days, but they’ve outplayed their opposition by a much larger margin (14.4 net rating) than the others, Utah (9.7) and the Lakers (7.1). Certainly the schedule has helped a bit, with Phoenix and Chicago both bottom-four offenses thus far in ’18-19, but Toronto is ranked third (114.7 points scored per 100 possessions).
Other notes from Wednesday shootaround at Target Center:
Nikola Mirotic and Elfrid Payton remained listed as questionable on the team’s most recent injury report, but it is more likely that Mirotic could suit up Wednesday against the Timberwolves than Payton.
“Niko’s feeling pretty good. Elfrid, we’ve still got to see (if he can play),” Alvin Gentry said. “One thing we can’t do is get to the stage where we’re almost 90 percent home, but then we turn around and go back the other direction. Unless (Payton) is really feeling great about it and confident about it, I won’t put him out there. I just don’t think it’s worth it, in a situation where we’re going to have 68 games left to play (after Wednesday's game). We’ve got to be smart about it, and I told him he’s got to be smart about it. This is not about showing toughness or anything like that. This is about being smart, understanding recovery and understanding the impact he has on our team.” …
The previous two seasons saw a complete flip in the New Orleans-Minnesota head-to-head series – the Pelicans posted a 3-0 sweep in ’16-17, but the Timberwolves went 4-0 last season. Gentry: “All the games were close. They made plays at the end and we didn’t. The year before was just the opposite. Pretty evenly-matched teams. It comes down to making plays in the last three or four minutes of the game.”