Timberwolves’ ranking in the Western Conference – Part Two

Apr 13, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) drives to the basket around New Orleans Pelicans guard Quincy Pondexter (20) in the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

7. New Orleans Pelicans

Anthony Davis. That is all.

Seriously, the New Orleans Pelicans have a generational talent in Davis, and though he’s not quite on the level of what Shaq, Hakeem, Wilt, etc. were (yet), he’s already a big-time player who is only going to become more dominant.

Other than him, however, the Pels are relatively bare and have dealt with major injuries to most of their big name players for the past two years now. Jrue Holiday, a former All-Star with the 76ers, hasn’t been able to stay healthy, and his production has taken a noticeable hit. Eric Gordon, whose career has been derailed by injuries, has gone from a twenty-a-night scorer in his first season in New Orleans to averaging merely thirteen per game last year.

More from Timberwolves News

• The dream starting 5 for Minnesota Timberwolves 5 years from now
• Anthony Edwards’ latest accolade is a great sign of things to come
• In an OT thriller, Team Canada snatches Bronze from Team USA
• Timberwolves start, bench, cut: Mike Conley, Shake Milton, Jordan McLaughlin
• Which Timberwolves roster additions have upgraded the bench?

Perhaps the most interesting athlete on the squad — with the exception of “The Brow,” of course — is Tyreke Evans, a guy who won the Rookie of the Year award over Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry, and James Harden among others, but has declined in every year since then with the exception of last season.

The most important part of Evans’ game is his play-making ability. The former Sacramento King thrives with the ball in his hands. In his rookie year, 10% of the time he spent on the court was with him at the point guard position — his highest mark in his career. Subsequently, Evans posted the highest numbers of his career. Since then, he hasn’t played the one more than two percent of the time — a huge decline.

Omer Asik‘s production isn’t measured in statistics. Asik brings more to the team than raw numbers; he allows the team flexibility with Anthony Davis, whether that’s with Asik in the game at the five and Davis at the four, or with Asik out of the game and Davis manning the middle.

New head coach Alvin Gentry won’t have a big bench like he did in Golden State last year, but the Pelicans players from six through fifteen have gotten much stronger since past years. (Seriously, you should’ve seen their bench two years ago). Ryan Anderson will be an important piece to the team, and Norris Cole brings championship experience, even if he had to rely on LeBron James for his only two rings.

All in all, the Pelicans have a good — but not great — team that will get them through the Western Conference regular season but strand them in the playoffs. They’ll improve over last year but won’t get over that first round hump — yet.

Next: #6 - The Grizzled Vets Remain Relevant