The Los Angeles Lakers continue their five-game road trip as they play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves on the second night of a back to back.
The Lakers are coming fresh off a defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder and are looking to bounce back against the West’s worst team. In Oklahoma City, Jordan Clarkson recorded new career-highs of 30 points and three blocks to go along with seven assists, putting his full potential on display. Jeremy Lin had a solid outing as well, posting 19 points and seven assists on 6 of 11 shooting.
The biggest problem for the Lakers in their last game was rebounding as they were out-boarded, 49-28. They will have to clean that up against a short-handed Timberwolves team.
The last time these two teams met was in Minneapolis when Kobe Bryant passed Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list and received a huge standing ovation from the road crowd, a priceless moment. The Lakers wound up winning that game, 100-94, led by Bryant’s 26 points. Shabazz Muhammad had himself an excellent night, though, scoring 28 points and nabbing nine rebounds.
Both teams pretty much have had the same faith since then, suffering through injuries and being eliminated from playoff contention. The Timberwolves had only seven guys suited up in their last game when they miraculously beat the red-hot Utah Jazz, 106-104, in overtime.
Zach LaVine scored a game-high 27 points, including two clutch three-pointers in regulation that sent the game to overtime. The other Timberwolves rookie, Andrew Wiggins, posted 22 points and seven rebounds in 49 minutes of play.
The Timberwolves are expected to have only seven bodies available for this game as well, but an official announcement should come hours before game time.
For the Lakers, the usual suspects will be sidelined – Kobe Bryant, Nick Young, Ronnie Price, and Julius Randle. In addition, they will be without head coach Byron Scott for a second consecutive game as he is attending his mother’s funeral. Paul Pressey has taken over head coaching duties in the meantime.
The Lakers shuffled their lineup and rotations in their last game, as requested by Coach Scott. Jeremy Lin and Ryan Kelly were back into the starting lineup, while Carlos Boozer and Jordan Hill were tossed into the doghouse, and Wayne Ellington was benched. According to Coach Scott, the Lakers will not play those two veterans for the next few games because they want to evaluate the younger players as the season winds down.
This game will be a battle for lottery positioning as both teams are bottom of the standings. Otherwise, this game has no other purpose.
The game tips off at 8 pm Eastern Standard Time.