Thursday night’s matchup with the Lakers is more than just another game–it’s a
golden opportunity. If the Wolves win, they would move into a tie with the
Lakers in the loss column and earn what could be a very important tiebreaker.
The Wolves already have a 2-1 series advantage going into their last meeting of
the season with Los Angeles. They beat the LeBron James led squad at Target
Center early in the season before absolutely hammering the Lakers sans LeBron
earlier in the month.
James has yet to take contact in practice after injuring his groin on Christmas
day, so he is extremely unlikely to return–the Wolves should be licking their
chops knowing what they can do to that squad after demolishing them 108-86 on
Jan. 6. However, the Lakers will get a modicum of relief from the likely return
of guard Rajon Rondo. Los Angeles has been floundering in the last few weeks and
Rondo’s return could be the steadying presence they need to get back on
track–but not if the Wolves have anything to say about it.
Rondo or no Rondo, the Wolves will still have to figure out a way to handle
Karl-Anthony Towns. The Wolves center crushed both Tyson Chandler and JaVale
McGee the last time these two teams met, singlehandedly out-scoring and
out-rebounding the combination of McGee and Chandler. Towns finished that
contest with 28 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks. Ivica Zubac is an
interesting matchup for Towns–Zubac has been playing the best basketball of his
career lately and certainly looks like a future starter–but the two players are
simply in different points in their development. Towns is a growing superstar
while Zubac is still finding his footing in the league. While the Lakers have
enough size to play Towns tough, they don’t have anyone who will really be able
to make him work on the defensive end. It could be a long night for the Lakers
if Towns gets going.
Additionally, despite getting a point guard back from injury the Lakers are
desperately thin at the position. Lonzo Ball is still nursing a sprained ankle
and the Lakers’ only other true primary ballhandler is LeBron. In a huge loss to
the Warriors on Monday, the Lakers didn’t start a point guard, instead opting to
have Brandon Ingram bring the ball up. That worked out well, with Ingram
finishing with 17 points, but it’s probably not a long-term answer. It will be
interesting to see who the Lakers choose to play the backup point guard if Rondo
does indeed return.
Thursday’s matchup has the added narrative element of two teams both trying to
survive the loss of some key pieces of their roster. The Wolves are doing better
than the Lakers–they are actually climbing the standings despite being down two
starters (Jeff Teague and Robert Covington) and an important backup (Tyus
Jones). However, they need to keep their foot on the gas. If Minnesota can keep
themselves in contention or even close the gap between them and the West’s No. 8
seed, they could really go on a run once they get a boost from Teague, Jones and
Covington’s eventual returns.
Managing the minutes of his players has become an early challenge for Interim
Head Coach Ryan Saunders. Derrick Rose will likely be running the point in L.A.,
but with Rose rehabbing a recent ankle injury and the Wolves on a back-to-back
(they play the Jazz on Friday), look for Saunders to be careful with how he uses
Rose. That could mean a lot of minutes for Jerryd Bayless and Josh Okogie, and
more minutes at the guard spot for Wiggins (therefore more Anthony Tolliver at
the three).
While the ideal is obviously to always be at full strength, the Wolves may
actually find themselves strengthened by the absences of several key players.
Covington and Teague leave big shoes to fill, and Okogie, Bayless and other
Wolves reserves have stepped up admirably. Okogie in particular may end up being
the primary beneficiary of a thin backcourt–he’s gotten valuable game time to
hone his craft and he’s playing the best basketball of his young career.
Thursday’s game is not a “must-win” but it’s pretty close. The Wolves have an
opportunity here and they could be kicking themselves down the line if they let
it go to waste. Road wins against Western Conference opponents have been hard to
come by for any team this season, stacking a few together would be a real
accomplishment–that starts on Thursday.
For more on the matchup, including where to watch and listen to the game, check
out our scouting report.
Player: Jerryd Bayless
Player: Josh Okogie
Player: Karl-Anthony Towns
Player: Andrew Wiggins
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