The Minnesota Timberwolves play host to the New Orleans Pelicans at Target Center on Monday.

The Pelicans (0-3) got off to a rough start when Zion Williamson was ruled out for the first month of the season, and it's been all downhill since then. In fact, New Orleans has yet to win a game, losing to teams like the T'Wolves, Chicago Bulls, and Philadelphia 76ers. Those would be tough opponents for anyone, but none of them were really close. They actually trailed by at least 20 points in all three of those, and that's the best indicator of where this club is at right now. We can't put it all on Zion because role players like Nickel Alexander-Walker and Jonas Valanciunas have been excellent in his absence. That's plenty of talent with Brandon Ingram, and it's time for this club to grow up and start performing.

The Timberwolves (2-0) have been waiting for their young players to develop, and we might finally be there! The threesome of Karl-Anthony Towns, D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards has been superb through the first two games, grabbing victories over the Pelicans and Houston Rockets. That's certainly not a murderer's row of opponents, but it's encouraging to see this team take care of business against the bad teams. That's something Minnesota hasn't done for a long time, with the defense failing them through most of it. They've actually allowed just 195 combined points through the first two games, making them one of the best defenses in the opening week. If that continues, this could be a dangerous team for the first time in years.

These teams played on Saturday, with Minnesota prevailing, 96-89. That gives the Timberwolves three wins in their last four meetings with the Pelicans.