NBA play-in preview: Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers
The No. 8 Timberwolves had a great chance of beating the No. 7 Lakers. Then their players started throwing punches.
Now, Minnesota will be without Rudy Gobert ( suspended ) and Jaden McDaniels (fractured hand) for their matchup with Los Angeles. Let's just say that LeBron James is pretty hard to beat in a must win game even if you don't spot him two starters.
The last time these teams played, Los Angeles beat Minnesota on the road March 31 behind a monster game from Anthony Davis (38 points, 17 rebounds). The Lakers shot 40.9% from deep, shot 11 more free throws than the Wolves and dominated them on the boards, 53-38.
That's how AD did when the Timberwolves still had Gobert. Tuesday night, they'll be without him and injured center Naz Reid, so the defensive responsibility goes to Karl-Anthony Towns and some collection of overmatched backup bigs - Taurean Prince? Luka Garza?
In classic Davis fashion, he also fell to the ground after twisting his ankle and stayed down writhing in agony for minutes - then didn't even leave the game. With him laying on the floor, the Lakers got a bucket and drew a shooting foul.
The Lakers take the second-highest percentage of shots at the rim, and Minnesota won't have a rim protector in this game. They have Towns, but his lack of rim protection is why Minnesota traded for Gobert to begin with.
Minnesota also lost its main LeBron stopper, All-Defensive candidate McDaniels. They simply don't have any depth this year. Some of their depth from last year, when they won the 7-8 play-in, is on the Lakers now. D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt combined for 44 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists in last year's play-in - and now all three are Lakers.
How can Minnesota steal a win? They're going to need huge games from their stars, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. The Lakers defend the rim well, but when Edwards gets hot, no one in the NBA can guard him. For his part, Edwards had colorful words for his lackluster performance in the March 31 game, and told reporters, "I can't wait to get on the floor."
The Wolves also have Mike Conley, who has delivered great performances in big games in the past. Can that trio hold up to the full-strength Lakers? We think Davis and the Lakers stifling interior defense will be too much for Minnesota, and the Lakers comfortably take this one by double digits.
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