All Lakers Expert Predictions For Friday's Crucial Timberwolves Matchup
Tonight, your Los Angeles Lakers are looking to leap over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference's play-in tournament bracket standings when the West's eighth-seeded Timberwolves (39-38) face off against the ninth-seeded Lakers (38-38).
Can they do it? Who needs to have a big game, beyond the usual suspects? Strategically how should Darvin Ham and his staff approach this contest?
Let's dive in, shall we?
1. Which Lakers bench player needs to step up against Minnesota?
As the picture of this article indicates, I think Malik Beasley is due for a huge game. Dennis Schroder and Rui Hachimura are the Lakers' other big bench scorers, and Troy Brown Jr. has grown more comfortable taking open threes as the season has worn on, but Beasley is one of the highest-volume shooters in the NBA, and his former Timberwolves team will certainly respect his abilities from deep.
2. Who will guard Anthony Edwards?
I'm not sure Darvin Ham will put versatile starting power forward Jarred Vanderbilt on the Timberwolves' lone All-Star to start the game, though he could end up there, depending on how Karl-Anthony Towns performs. Newly-installed starting shooting guard Austin Reaves should give his Minny counterpart plenty of trouble.
3. Will LA take down the T-Wolves tonight?
Most Las Vegas oddsmakers have Minnesota pegged as a 2.5-point favorite at home against Los Angeles. The Timberwolves' considerably lengthier injury report could come back to bite them. The Timberwolves when healthy have looked pretty darn feisty since offloading now-Laker D'Angelo Russell. Since the trade deadline (we're not counting that game on the night of February 9th when only a handful of Lakers were even available to play), the revamped Lakers have gone 13-7. Minnesota, meanwhile, has gone a much more pedestrian 9-10 in that same period. Give LA the edge here, but it'll be close.
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