Last season, the New Orleans Pelicans seemed to be a team in the ascendancy in the Western Conference after Anthony Davis reached the playoffs for the first time.
This season, the Minnesota Timberwolves won't be going to the postseason but the Andrew Wiggins-led club may have stolen the mantle as the West's team on the rise.
The Timberwolves can record their second three-game win streak when they look to hand the visiting Pelicans a fifth straight defeat Monday night.
New Orleans (18-32) won 45 games a season ago to get to the playoffs for the first time in Davis' first three seasons.