Timberwolves vs. Lakers NBA Preview

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers NBA Preview & Pick

Thursday, January 24 at 10:30 PM
ET

STAPLES Center

Coverage: TNT: Line: Lakers -2; O/U: 229.5.

The Minnesota Timberwolves visit
a Los Angeles Lakers team that could have Rajon Rondo back. 

The Timberwolves are coming off
back-to-back wins over the Suns; first in a tight 116-114 contest at Minnesota
on Sunday and then with a 118-91 beating at Phoenix on Tuesday while the Lakers
have lost four of their last six games, including Monday's 130-111 setback
against the Warriors, when they witnessed Klay Thompson set an NBA record by
making his first 10 3-point attempts.

Towns can't be stopped

The Timberwolves are 2-1 against the Lakers this season and 4-3 under interim head coach Ryan Saunders, who took over for Tom Thibodeau when the team fired him after a 108-86 win against the Lakers on January 6. 

Karl-Anthony Towns is playing at
a high level, scoring at least 20 points in 13 of his last 14 games while
averaging 26.1 points over that stretch. Towns scored a combined 55 points in
the two games against the Suns while rookie Josh Okogie finished with a
career-high 21 points at Phoenix last Tuesday and he's averaging 11.7 points in
seven games this month.

Rondo on his way back

Rajon Rondo will be a game-time
decision tonight as he recovers from a torn ligament in his right ring finger
and when he returns the Lakers will have a true point guard on the floor, as
Lonzo Ball will miss at least a month after spraining his ankle against the
Rockets last Saturday.

The Lakers employed a point-guard-by-committee approach in Monday's loss against the Warriors and they had just 20 assists while the Warriors finished with 41. LeBron James, who averages team-bests with 27.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists, could have assumed ball-handling duties today but he's still out with a groin injury, although he could come back against the Suns next Sunday.

James and Rondo haven't played
since Christmas Day, when the Lakers beat the Warriors 127-101 at ORACLE Arena
and the team is just 5-9 since, with wins at Dallas and Oklahoma City but also
with a home loss to the Cavaliers.

NBA Trends:

The Under is:

9-3-1 in Minnesota's last 13
games against a team with a winning straight up record

8-3 in Minnesota's last 11 games
against Pacific Division opponents

23-8 in Los Angeles' last 31 home
games against a team with a losing road record

28-13 in Los Angeles' last 41
overall

The Lakers won' have James and
Ball while Timberwolves guards Jeff Teague (foot) and Tyus Jones (ankle) are
day-to-day and forward Robert Covington (knee) is out indefinitely. If Teague
is out, Derrick Rose could get another start.

Rose was quiet on Tuesday,
scoring just six points on 3 of 9 shooting in 23 minutes but he recorded five
assists and he's averaging 21.0 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds in 33.0
minutes over two games against the Lakers this season. 

The Lakers couldn't stop
Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins in the last meeting and their 21
turnovers led to 27 points for the Timberwolves but this is a very high total.
If Rondo comes back he will push the pace and create for his teammates and the
Timberwolves love to run up and down the court but that won't necessarily
translate into enough points to get Over this total.  

Team rankings based on offensive
efficiency:

Timberwolves - 14th (107.7 points
scored per 100 possessions)

Lakers - 21st (105.3 points
scored per 100 possessions)

NBA Pick: Under 229.5 (-110) at Jazz Sports

Check odds here: Jazz Sports