As LeBron James walked off the floor with Anthony Davis on Friday night following another road win, James joked that they and their Los Angeles Lakers would be back home for “22 hours” before getting back on the road again. While James was exaggerating, by a day or two, the point remains that their time at home will be like a lightning bolt as they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday before going on another road trip next week.
James, Davis and the Lakers take on the Timberwolves for the first time this season, as Minnesota finds themselves in the mix for a playoff spot in the Western Conference at 10-11. The Wolves are also recovering from one of the weirdest losses you’ll ever see as Chris Paul calling out Jordan Bell’s untucked jersey gave the Thunder a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime, where the Wolves eventually lost.
The focal point for the Lakers defense will be Karl-Anthony Towns, who will stretch the Lakers centers far away from the basket with regularity. While Towns has a post-game, he’s attempting nearly nine 3-pointers per game and shooting 43.4% on those shots. The outside, even from far beyond the line where guys like Damian Lillard or Stephen Curry launch from, is where Towns can put the Lakers in different positions.
In addition to Towns, Andrew Wiggins has historically played well against LeBron ever since being traded for Kevin Love in his rookie season. That was before Wiggins took a big step forward to start this season as he is averaging career-highs in assists, blocks, rebounds and points.