Game 40: 03/16/21 Timberwolves at Lakers GAME THREAD

[KobeMVP888]

(9-30) TIMBERWOLVES AT LAKERS (26-13)

Tuesday, March 16, 2021, 7:30 PM PDT
Staples Center • Los Angeles, CA

Referees: Eric Lewis (#42), Dedric Taylor (#21), John Butler (#53)

Replay Center: Brett Nansel, CJ Washington, Phenizee Ransom

Line: Lakers -8.0
O/U: 223

National TV: NBA League Pass only
Local TV: Spectrum SportsNet



GAME PREVIEW: TIMBERWOLVES AT LAKERS: Get the brooms out!

by Christian Rivas, @RadRivas, silverscreenandroll.com

The Minnesota Timberwolves are ... interesting. They have three players on their roster that were taken with the first or second pick in the NBA Draft over the last six years and two have them — D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns — have made All-Star games in the last three years.

And still, they currently hold the worst record in the NBA with nine wins and 30 losses because the trio of Russell, Towns and Edwards have only played four games together. In those four games, they’ve gone 2-2.

The Timberwolves will still be incomplete when they play the Los Angeles Lakers for the second time this season on Tuesday because Russell is still recovering from knee surgery, but the Lakers will be dealing with a few injuries of their own. In addition to Anthony Davis, who’s expected to miss at least another two weeks with Achilles tendinosis, and Jared Dudley, who is out indefinitely with a right MCL tear, the Lakers won’t have Alex Caruso (concussion) or Marc Gasol (health and safety protocols), both of whom were ruled out of Tuesday’s game by Frank Vogel on Monday.

When you consider the fact that the Lakers have beaten the Timberwolves twice already without Anthony Davis in the starting lineup, there’s no reason to be overly-concerned. In fact, you could argue that they’re the favorites. However, with the amount of names on the injury report, it wouldn’t be some huge disappointment if the Lakers let Tuesday’s game get away from them.

Notes and updates

- Over the last seven games, Anthony Edwards, who was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has averaged 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game. It’s one of the few things going well for the Wolves this year.

- The latest update on Anthony Davis, however, was less positive. He may miss another three weeks or more, according to a report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/202 ... ng-lineups

[lakerevolution]

So LeBron owns part of Liverpool (NYC Jesus where ya at) and now part of the Bawstin Red Sawcks . . Kobe would be proud.

Victory.

Next.

[lakerevolution]

Wow. Evenly matched first half. When's the last time you saw BOTH teams score 40 in a quarter? The second half was all ours as Kuz, Montrezl and THT gave LeBron all the help he needed. Lakers Baby!

[3Peatkb24]

Lebron with another TDB, LeBron just being LeBron. 27-13 through 40 games.

[lakerevolution]

The Lakers had 37 assists against Minnesota after racking up 36 at Golden State, giving them 35 or more assists in back-to-back games for the first time since 1996.

“He’s obviously the best reader of pick-and-roll action in the game, and Trez is a dynamic roller,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of LeBron James. “Minnesota had a hard time figuring it out, and we have a mindset with our stuff that if a play works, we keep running it.”

Midway through the fourth quarter, James secured his fifth triple-double of the season — and his second straight after a 22-point, 11-assist, 10-rebound performance in San Francisco on Monday.

“I honestly don’t think (James) has been playing that differently than what he was doing leading into the break,” Vogel said. “I just think our shooters have come alive. I think we hit a little bit of a wall coming into the break, and then our shooters got their legs under them a little bit, and in the last three games they’ve been hitting shots, so his assist totals are up.”

“When a young team like we are gets tired, bad habits kick in,” said Ricky Rubio, who scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half. “One of those is you settle for a jumper or a pull-up 3 instead of attacking to the rim. That’s why experience in this league is so important. With a veteran team like the Lakers, in the fourth quarter when the fatigue kicks in, they get even better. We’ve got to learn from that.”

Only four players in NBA history have recorded 100 triple-doubles, and they include Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd (107). Oscar Robertson holds the record with 181, but Russell Westbrook is up to 157. Lakers great Magic Johnson is third with 138.

[3Peatkb24]

The Lakers had 37 assists against Minnesota after racking up 36 at Golden State, giving them 35 or more assists in back-to-back games for the first time since 1996.

“He’s obviously the best reader of pick-and-roll action in the game, and Trez is a dynamic roller,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of LeBron James. “Minnesota had a hard time figuring it out, and we have a mindset with our stuff that if a play works, we keep running it.”

Midway through the fourth quarter, James secured his fifth triple-double of the season — and his second straight after a 22-point, 11-assist, 10-rebound performance in San Francisco on Monday.

“I honestly don’t think (James) has been playing that differently than what he was doing leading into the break,” Vogel said. “I just think our shooters have come alive. I think we hit a little bit of a wall coming into the break, and then our shooters got their legs under them a little bit, and in the last three games they’ve been hitting shots, so his assist totals are up.”

“When a young team like we are gets tired, bad habits kick in,” said Ricky Rubio, who scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half. “One of those is you settle for a jumper or a pull-up 3 instead of attacking to the rim. That’s why experience in this league is so important. With a veteran team like the Lakers, in the fourth quarter when the fatigue kicks in, they get even better. We’ve got to learn from that.”

Only four players in NBA history have recorded 100 triple-doubles, and they include Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd (107). Oscar Robertson holds the record with 181, but Russell Westbrook is up to 157. Lakers great Magic Johnson is third with 138.

LeBron is a more athletic version of Magic Johnson that scores a little more. I still think Magic was more clutch though but he and Magic are a perfect comparison like Jordan and Kobe are - both great. Every era has their comparison's. LeBron is a great passer much like Magic was, he see's the floor better than anyone in today's game like Magic did in his day and his basketball IQ is off the charts.