The New Orleans Hornets knew this season would be a write off as soon as they decided to jettison point guard Chris Paul. \u00a0<\/p>\n
New Orleans Hornets (9-30) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (21-19) Matchup<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Preview<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n New Orleans<\/strong><\/p>\n The haul they got in return wasn\u2019t horrible but there is just no jump to this team, further demonstrating what a special player Paul is. \u00a0Injuries haven\u2019t helped with confused guard Eric Gordon only in the lineup for a couple of games so far this season.<\/p>\n We might get a chance to see the future of this team when he returns later this month.<\/p>\n There is just not much to get excited about on this New Orleans team. \u00a0With the exception of Gordon their roster is made up of castoffs from other teams.<\/p>\n Chris Kaman can be effective in the middle but his days are behind him and the exact same can be said for backup Emeka Okafor. \u00a0At least that combo is still fairly productive but the rest of the lineup doesn\u2019t give you much.<\/p>\n Point guard Jarret Jack is a nice player but he is not really a starting calibre point guard in this league. [soliloquy id=”82219″]<\/p>\n Minnesota<\/strong><\/p>\n Given how bad this franchise was for so long it is surprising that there isn\u2019t more talk about how well Minnesota is playing this year. \u00a0Right now they are tied for the final playoff spot in the West with Houston and they have an exciting mix of young players to build around.<\/p>\n If they can finish strong you just might see a team that could surprise in the playoffs, sort of like Memphis did last year.<\/p>\n Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Derrick Williams – that is not a bad trio of talent to build your team around.<\/p>\n This team is in the top 10 in scoring as Love seems to keep expanding his game, adding 3 point marksmanship to his fantastic rebounding skills. \u00a0Meanwhile Rubio has been a godsend as a playmaker, adding some flash to Love\u2019s vanilla game.<\/p>\n This team is on a roll, having won three in a row heading into a measuring stick game against the Lakers Friday night.<\/p>\n
\nSaturday March 10
\nTarget Center – Minneapolis, MN
\n8:00PM
\nMoneyline: \u00a0No money line currently posted.
\nSpread: \u00a0Minnesota -9.5
\nO\/U: \u00a0189.5<\/strong><\/p>\n