Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction: Laser-focused Lakers take on momentum-seeking Minnesota

NBA Regular Season ended after a long and gritty window. As usual, there were a lot of twists and turns, and as we head towards the Playoffs, we will first have to go through the Play-in tournament. In the West, the seventh-seed battle is going to be between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The winner of the match is going to take on the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. The loser will take on the winner between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Can the Lakers make sure that they nab the seventh-seeded?

The Lakers won 43 and lost 39 games, something which didn’t look possible around the midseason. When Anthony Davis got injured, things looked bleak but when he returned, he propelled the Lakers to new heights. From the second week of February, they have won 18 out of their 26 games, beating even high-profile teams on the way. The momentum is going to be vital during the Postseason.

What the Lakers changed around midseason was that they brought in D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt, which bolstered them in big ways. Sophomore Austin Reaves’ play was transformational too and he himself was responsible for a bunch of wins. With LeBron and Davis in the fold alongside a strong supporting unit, the Lakers will be expected to make a lot of noise but first, they need to cross the Play-in stage.

The Timberwolves ended with 42 wins and 40 losses in the Regular Season. The Timberwolves were without Karl Anthony-Towns for most of the season and the offense was led by wing Anthony Edwards. The team traded D’Angelo Russell and brought in Mike Conley who does fit in well as the playmaker. Role players helped them regularly and Jalen McDaniels was impressive as a defender and his injury really hits the team hard.

The challenge for the Wolves has been stringing together consistent runs. They have a mid-level offense and defense but rebounding hasn’t been their strong suit. With Rudy Gobert out of the game, that end will be hurt once again. Minnesota shot around 49% which was the third-best in the league and with Anthony-Towns and Edwards running the show, that end looks promising.

• Lakers: OUT: Shaquille Harrison, Tristan Thompson. PROBABLE: D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Davis, LeBron James;
• Timberwolves: OUT: Naz Reid, Rudy Gobert, Jalen McDaniels. QUESTIONABLE: Jaylen Nowell, Karl Anthony-Towns.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Anthony Davis(29+ Points), Anthony Edwards(25-32 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Anthony Davis(13-18 Rebounds), Karl Anthony-Towns(10-13 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: LeBron James(8-11 Assists), Mike Conley(7-10 Assists).

The Lakers have been on fire lately and their ability to play high-quality defense and also raid the offensive end is admirable. One big challenge for the Timberwolves will be containing Anthony Davis in absence of both McDaniels and Gobert, which means he may rack up a bunch of offensive rebounds. Anyway, I back the Lakers to win here and predict a scoreline of 124:115 in the Lakers’ favor.NBA Regular Season

Venue: Crypto.com Arena

Home: Los Angeles Lakers

Away: Minnesota Timberwolves

12.04.2023, @ 05:00 AM (+03:00 UTC)