Pelicans Eaten by Wolves, 124-112

The New Orleans Pelicans jumped out to a 15-12 start, but the rest of the first half was all downhill from there. Seven free throw attempts to the Wolves 24. 15 turnovers to 7. The Stiemsma-Morrow-Roberts lineup crapping the bed. Then Ajinca deciding to throw his hat into the cesspool for good measure. Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis suffering 3 fouls a piece. At this point, the game sure felt like the NBA wanted to say that they were sorry for the outcome of the Timberwolves previous game. Just like I had feared in the preview.

The start of the 3rd quarter wasn't any better; in fact, all the wheels came off at once. Holiday picked up his 4th foul 1:31 in. Aminu missed several point blank layups. Then he launched a three. Evans drove to the rim, right into a Corey Brewer block.

Had Monty called a timeout a little earlier, the game might have still be saved. After the Holiday foul, it was obvious the team had no focus and were getting out-hustled. Instead, for all intents and purposes, the game was over less than 4 minutes into the second half. As after the timeout, the misery only continued and Minnesota built a 29-point lead with 5:56 left in the third quarter.

Couldn't be anymore OVAHHHH!

GAME NOTES:

- It's hard to gleam much from blowouts and this one wasn't any different. A few players (Anderson, Holiday and Evans) accumulated nice stat lines but much of it was done after the game had been decided. It would have been nice to give someone overworked like Anderson a lot more rest. Instead, he ended up with 40:28 out of 48 minute game. In a blowout. SMH.

- As after the last game, I despise seeing Greg Stiemsma and Brian Roberts being among the first reserves into the game. Austin Rivers has been showing flashes of late and one can at least count on his defense. Yes, Alexis Ajinca had a frightening stretch when it mattered; however, we've now had how many instances where Stiemsma has proven he should not be receiving any minutes? Here's to hoping once Jason Smith is back, the Steamer will consistently remain on the backburner.

- There were several instances in the 3rd quarter where it was obvious our guys weren't appreciative of the beat-down. First, Evans gave Brewer a shove when he was attempting to cross half-court to call a timeout. Then a few minutes later, Davis had some choice words for Dante Cunningham that drew a technical foul.

- What is the deal with Monty Williams always trusting the team to play through rough stretches? We don't possess the experience nor savvy. We're still more akin to a bad child that should be disciplined as soon as possible.

Let's hope for a whole lot more from the Pelicans on Friday when we face the Boston Celtics.