Game 78: Wolves vs. Land of no Lakes

[Loaf_of_bread]

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season as they continue to battle for the #1 overall seed in the Western Conference. They arrive in Los Angeles tied for the top spot with Denver and have a 7-3 record in their last ten games despite continuing to battle without All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns. On Friday night, the Wolves lost a critical matchup with the Suns 97-87 to tall into a tie with the Nuggets for the top spot in the Western Conference at 53-24. Only two Wolves scored in double figures led by Anthony Edwards' 17 points. Edwards had trouble with his shooting, making just 6-of-19 shots.
“We had eight turnovers in the first quarter. We fought the game the whole time,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We didn’t make the easy pass when it was there and when we did have opportunities at the rim we didn’t finish strong. A complete breakdown offensively.”

“We’ve been playing better than this offensively, and it was on us to be able to finish some of the opportunities we did create, and I got to do a better job of giving these guys some solutions too.”

The T-Wolves are tied with the Nuggets for the best record in the West with just five games to play for each team. At 28-10 at home this season, home-court throughout the playoffs would give the Wolves a nice edge. The Wolves come into this matchup ranked 18th in the NBA in scoring. They are 10th in field goal shooting and an impressive 3rd in 3-point shooting. The Wolves are only 15th in 3-point field goals made per game, however. On the defensive end, the Wolves are 22nd in scoring defense. They are first in field goal defense and third in 3-point defense. The Wolves are 12th in total rebounds in the NBA and 22nd in turnovers per game.

Key Injuries: G Jaylen Clark and C Karl-Anthony Towns are

The Los Angeles Lakers won their third straight game on Wednesday night and have now won eight of nines games heading into Saturday's game against the Cavaliers in LA. Anthony Davis poured in 19 of his 35 points in the first quarter and tallied 18 rebounds as the Lakers took down the Wizards on Wednesday. LeBron James added 25 points and nine assists in the win for the surging Lakers. On Saturday night vs. the Cavs, the Lakers cruised to their fourth straight win by the score of 116-97. The Lakers shot 56% from the floor led by 28 points from D'Angelo Russell. LeBron James chipped in with 24 points with 12 assists and Anthony Davis had 22 points with 13 rebounds. With the win, the Lakers are now in 8th place in the Western Conference standings.
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“We’re very confident in our ballclub," Davis said. "We laugh about like, oh, winning nine out of 10, you know, 10 out of 11, whatever. and we’re not gaining anywhere. That's how good the West is.”

The Lakers have an outside shot to get out of the play-in round with just five games left and trailing the 6th-place Suns by just two games. Given the precarious health of stars Davis and James, however, the Lakers may just take their chances in the play-in round rather than risk any more injuries. The Lakers come into this matchup ranked 8th in scoring in the NBA. They are second in field goal shooting and 8th in 3-point shooting. The Lakers are just 24th in 3-point field goals made per game. Defensively, the Lakers are 23rd in scoring defense. They are 16th in field goal defense and 22nd in 3-point defense. The Lakers are 14th in total rebounds per game and they are 20th in turnovers per game.

Key Injuries: PF Jarred Vanderbilt is out. SF LeBron James and PF Anthony Davis are game-time decisions.

This is a tough one to gauge due to the uncertainty of either or both James and Davis heading into this game. The Lakers are surging but they'll have to decide on whether or not they will play their superstar duo on back-to-back nights with the playoffs so close. Davis gives the Lakers an edge on the block and also the ability to pull Gobert away from the basket. The Lakers shooters have been outstanding lately, particularly Austin Reeves, and that will force the Wolves defense to get out deep defensively.


The Wolves are coming off an 87-point performance against the Suns and are just 18th in the NBA in scoring this season. They want this game to be a low-scoring to keep pace with the Lakers. With the real possibility that either James or Davis misses the game, that is a strong likelihood. In addition, this one should have a playoff atmosphere and style of play, making points more difficult to come by. I'm banking on both of those possibilities.

...We are getting down to the nitty gritty...

PLAYOFF ATMOSPHERE

Line inching closer to even, LA no lakes slight favorite

Can we get a glimpse of butter tonight in these high stakes???

[KGdaBom]

James and Davis play 9 times out of 10 when questionable. I think they've both been questionable 60 or more times this year. They are very likely to play.

[Shaka_Zulu]

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Mind games or not, Lakers actually play better certain matchups when Bron is out. Pushes Russell and AD to take over.

[KGdaBom]

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Mind games or not, Lakers actually play better certain matchups when Bron is out. Pushes Russell and AD to take over.

I'm happy that Bron fears us . I think it makes the games easier.

[Loaf_of_bread]

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Mind games or not, Lakers actually play better certain matchups when Bron is out. Pushes Russell and AD to take over.

russell take over?

oh boy, lmao

[Klomp]

I wonder who gets Jaden-ized now?

[Shaka_Zulu]

Read on Twitter

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Mind games or not, Lakers actually play better certain matchups when Bron is out. Pushes Russell and AD to take over.

russell take over?

oh boy, lmao

Not the Minny Dlo past 2 months for Lakers, he been playing very well for them. Especially when LeBron sits he takes over.

[Loaf_of_bread]

Read on Twitter

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Mind games or not, Lakers actually play better certain matchups when Bron is out. Pushes Russell and AD to take over.

russell take over?

oh boy, lmao

Not the Minny Dlo past 2 months for Lakers, he been playing very well for them. Especially when LeBron sits he takes over.

We are way too talented to worry about dlo beating us. Not happening

Davis is the one that has beaten us in the past.

[WolfAddict]

After the last game I can see us using this as a "bounce back" game - Well, I'm hoping for that anyway...

[TimberKat]

It's been a bad day so far. Clippers won a close one coming from 20+ down and OKC won a close one with some clutch shots and without SGA and Williams. Wolves needs to win tonight

[Loaf_of_bread]

Sharks seem to like us tonight.. favored by 1.5..

[winforlose]

It's been a bad day so far. Clippers won a close one coming from 20+ down and OKC won a close one with some clutch shots and without SGA and Williams. Wolves needs to win tonight

Wolves win any game or clippers lose any game and the Wolves clinch a top 3 seed. The Thunder was bad for us.

[Loaf_of_bread]

It's been a bad day so far. Clippers won a close one coming from 20+ down and OKC won a close one with some clutch shots and without SGA and Williams. Wolves needs to win tonight

We're going to have to beat good teams no matter how it plays out.

Finishing strong is good for us to go in with momentum, but the West is a gauntlet of the unknown.

[winforlose]

It's been a bad day so far. Clippers won a close one coming from 20+ down and OKC won a close one with some clutch shots and without SGA and Williams. Wolves needs to win tonight

We're going to have to beat good teams no matter how it plays out.

Finishing strong is good for us to go in with momentum, but the West is a gauntlet of the unknown.

Couldn’t agree more.

[Loaf_of_bread]

Playoff atmosphere tonight...this should be a good one

[Loaf_of_bread]

There's that butter..

[_AIJ_]

Kyle is horrible to start

[Loaf_of_bread]

Morris playing well thus far and living up to his billing as stepping up in the clutch.. keep it up

[_AIJ_]

Ant and kyle showing their zero iq so far

[Loaf_of_bread]

Without ad, they are toast. Seems to me they are giving up.