Are the Lakers eliminated if they lose to the Timberwolves in the play-in?
It would be safe to assume that no team planned to be in the Play-In Tournament when this season tipped off. Still, it’s got to be better than going home.
With 12 teams having secured their playoff spots, 10 teams out of contention and eight teams with a shot at qualification, the Play-In Tournament is upon us. On Tuesday the action will get going with Atlanta taking on Miami and Minnesota visiting LA. The winners of these games will head to the post season with the No. 7 seed, while the losers will have one more shot with a game against the winners of Wednesday’s games for the No. 8 seed.
The Lakers face a tough test
As mentioned before, the Los Angeles Lakers do still have a chance at postseason qualification even if they lose Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Having gone 16-7 since the All-Star break LeBron James and Co. have played some of their best basketball for what has been a difficult season. “We put ourselves in a position where we can move on,” Lakers star LeBron James said. “That’s all we could ask for, to put ourselves in a position to be able to move on. We had obviously a very, very slow start, starting 2-10...to know where we are today, we can be happy about that, but not satisfied.” Meanwhile the Timberwolves will be without star center, Rudy Gobert, after the Frenchman punched teammate, Kyle Anderson, during their last game. Needless to say, Gobert’s subsequent suspension is a major blow.
What to know about the Lakers vs Timberwolves
For the season, the teams have met on three occasions with Minnesota edging LA 2-1. It’s worth noting that the teams have had widely different campaigns with injuries, trades and even some internal battles making things complicated for both camps. To be clear, the loser of Tuesday night’s game will play an elimination game on Friday, while the winner will face the Memphis Grizzlies - as the No. 7 seed - in the first round of the playoffs starting with Game 1 on Sunday.
Where team news is concerned, the Lakers injury report is extensive but all those on it including Anthony Davis and LeBron James have been listed as probable, meaning we can expect to see them playing. Where Davis is concerned, the center has played Minnesota twice and scored 38 points on both occasions. James for his part averaged 23 points with 39.5% shooting from the field. As for the Timberwolves, it’s been Anthony Edwards who has led the way with 29 points in October’s game, however, he could only muster 30 between two meetings in March. In Gobert’s absence he will have to step up. Indeed, the Frenchman’s suspension has not come at an ideal time to say the least, but it could well liberate the Timberwolves in a way we haven’t seen since his arrival. Keep an eye on this one, we expect it to be full of fireworks.