The Western Conference’s final playoff spots are on the line when the Minnesota Timberwolves host the Los Angeles Lakers. At Target Center in Minneapolis at 8:00 p.m. EDT.
The Timberwolves are 7th in the conference with a 39-38 record, and the Lakers are tied for 8th with a 38-38 mark. This season, the Timberwolves are 2-0 versus the Lakers.
Updates Injury for Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers
Many Lakers fans assumed the season was over when LeBron James went down with an injury roughly a month ago.
Yet some crucial transactions at the deadline helped a lot, and so did the emergence of Anthony Davis, who is currently playing as well as anyone in the NBA. The Lakers have gone 11-6 since the All-Star break because of this, putting them in a strong position to make the playoffs.
Harrison Faigen of SBNation.com says that Davis’s (foot) participation in Friday’s game against the Timberwolves is likely.
Davis’ right foot stress injury is still bothering him, but he should be good to go on Friday.
He has scored 26.3 points, grabbed 10.7 boards, and distributed 3.2 dimes in 36.7 minutes over his last six games.
The Lakers are riding high after a 121-110 victory on the road in Chicago on Wednesday, giving them four consecutive victories.
Davis had another fantastic game, leading the Lakers with 38 points and 10 rebounds on 52% shooting from the field. Star-in-the-making Austin Reaves scored 19 points, and former Timberwolf D’Angelo Russell chipped in 17.
And…a certain LeBron James got back into the action.
On Wednesday against Chicago, he returned to the starting lineup and scored 25 points while also pulling down seven boards and dishing out four assists and recording two steals in 31 minutes.
SBNation.com’s Harrison Faigen says that King James’s status against the Timberwolves on Friday is in doubt due to a foot injury.
James has played in the last two games after missing time with a foot ailment; with the Lakers in a tight fight for a playoff spot, it seems likely that he will be available again on Friday.
It will be a bittersweet homecoming for D’Angelo Russell on Friday night, as the Timberwolves traded him to the Lakers at the trade deadline.
The Timberwolves acquired veteran point guard Mike Conley from the Jazz in a three-way trade, and he has been a rock for Minnesota’s young but talented squad.
Karl Anthony Towns, a crucial player for the Timberwolves, has returned from injury and joined the team.
With KAT healthy again, the Timberwolves have won four of their last five contests. Nevertheless, their four-game winning streak ended in a 107-100 loss against Phoenix on Wednesday.
Towns contributed 25 points and 8 rebounds to the Timberwolves’ loss, with Anthony Edwards leading the team with 31 points. Rudy Gobert contributed 7 points and 15 boards.
Gobert was limited to under 10 points for the first time since March 7. Yet, he still led the club in rebounds, grabbing 15 or more for the fourth time in his past seven games.
In those games, he has contributed 13.7 points, 14.1 boards, and 34.0 minutes on average.
Both of these clubs are currently in excellent form, and they appear to be headed for the play-in round, though this is by no means guaranteed.
But, I now favor the Lakers over the Timberwolves for a couple reasons. The Timberwolves have won both of their previous meetings with the Lakers, so the latter will be out for revenge.
Russell, Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley are all former Timberwolves who will be playing in front of the fans who shipped them away.
Well, this is James’ third game back, so he should be finding his footing again.
