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The Los Angeles Lakers have long been out of the playoff race, but they have wreaked some havoc on it of late. The Lakers are playing well down the stretch, and while it’s not the best thing in terms of their draft lottery odds, the young players are performing well.
Los Angeles will aim to keep it up when it faces off against fellow lottery team the Minnesota Timberwolves as the season winds down. Neither are going anywhere this year, but both hope to improve in the next couple of seasons, and this could be an enlightening game between a pair of young cores.
The Lakers could be slight underdogs at home as MInnesota has the more talented roster, but it should be a competitive tilt.
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Odds Analysis
The Lakers are 23-55 straight up and 34-42-2 against the spread. Los Angeles has played in 38 home games this season and has gone 16-20-2 against the spread. The Lakers have covered in 29 of 56 attempts as the underdog this season, with one game resulting in a push.
The Timberwolves are 31-46 straight up and 34-42-1 against the spread. Minnesota is 14-22-1 against the spread on the road this season. The T-Wolves have covered in 13 of 33 attempts as the favorite this season.
Previous Meetings
The Timberwolves are 2-1 against the Lakers this season, winning the most recent matchup on March 30th by a score of 119-104. All three previous meetings between the teams have been high-scoring affairs with Minnesota averaging 124.7 points per game against Los Angeles this year.
The first time these two teams met this year was back on November 13th. The Timberwolves won that game at home 125-99. The next meeting went the Lakers’ way, however, with Los Angeles winning in overtime 130-119.
The Lakers defense is allowing 111.9 points per game this season so it’s not surprising the Timberwolves have been able to put up these kinds of numbers. Minnesota’s offense is averaging 105.5 points per game this year.
Player to Watch
Anthony Wiggins -- The Timberwolves’ young forward has looked very good against the Lakers this season. He finished with 47 points in the first meeting, 36 points in the second and dropped 27 points in Minnesota’s recent win over Los Angeles at home.
Wiggins is averaging 23.3 points per game this season, his second in the league. The 22-year-old has put up 40 points or more on four different occasions this season, but 47 is his current career high.
He has continued to play at a high level, despite the fact that the Timberwolves are already out of playoff contention. Wiggins finished with 32 points against the Kings on April 1st and had 29 points against the Trail Blazers on April 3rd.
Free NBA ATS Pick
The Lakers beat the Grizzlies recently and then the San Antonio Spurs, which sealed San Antonio’s fate as the No. 2 seed in the West. Los Angeles hopes to keep building on those wins the rest of the way so the young roster can feel good heading into the summer.
However, this group has never been consistent and long winning streaks have been in short supply. The Timberwolves may not be world beaters, but they are the better team in this matchup. The home court advantage won’t be pronounced as the crowd won’t be too excited to watch a pair of lottery teams.
Take Minnesota to pull out a win in what should be another high-scoring affair.
NBA Odds: Timberwolves 123, Lakers 116
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