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In the Western Conference the Los Angeles Lakers went up against the Minnesota Timberwolves in what turned out to be a complete blowout and the Timberwolves won the game easily by 108-86.
It was a very disappointing game for the young Lakers. They're missing their star player LeBron James and since then they have not been the same. They don't have a scorer they could rely on, nor do they have any leader on the court who could show them the path. Injuries have plagued them and the remaining young players who are active in the roster don't seem to know how to win.
After this game the Timberwolves are at 11th in the West with a record of 19-21, while the Lakers have a record of 21-19 and they're at 8th in the West.
With all that in mind, here are the 3 talking points from the game -
#3 The defense of the Minnesota Timberwolves
This game was a perfect showcase of the defensive potential of the Timberwolves. This showed their potential and what was expected of them from the start of the season. Tom Thibodeau is known for his elite defensive teams and this was on full display in this game.
The Timberwolves stuck to the game plan, they put in the effort, they played hard, out matched the Lakers in almost every statistical category and easily won the game. This is exactly the kind of statement win they needed to build momentum. They blocked shots and had active hands on the steal as well.
They were very tight on defense and didn't allow any open looks to the Lakers. They ere struggling to get any shot into the basket. And due to such excellent pressure, the Lakers succumbed.
#2 The Timberwolves' Young Duo
ince the departure of Jimmy Butler the Timberwolves were in identity crisis. They were struggling to figure out who their star players were. Nobody clearly looked like stepping up to the mantle except Towns.
But in the recent few games Andrew Wiggins have been showing positive signs and seems to be stepping up into Jimmy Butler's role. Both these youngsters gel well with each other and have developed a good chemistry with each other.
While Towns dominates from the inside, Wiggins makes sure that he's giving the opposition a headache on the fast break or anywhere on the wing.
This duo is slowly developing into a deadly 1-2 combo. In this game as well, their potential was on full display.
Towns scored 28 points with 18 rebounds, whereas Wiggins was no less. He came up with 28 of his own to help the team win.
#1. The Lakers' young'ns
All eyes are on this duo. These are high-pressure times in Los Angeles and each and every action is minutely under scrutiny. Especially the actions of Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram who are expected to save the Lakers in the absence of LeBron James.
But, they have been absolutely disappointing in that job so far. The Lakers are in a rut and nothing seems to be working for them right now. It has become so ugly that even the Lakers fans are booing these young stars in their own court.
Pressure is mounting on the front office as well to make trades if these youngsters fail to deliver on the goods. In this game Ball had 0 points while Ingram had only 13 on 5-16 shooting.
In their next game the Timberwolves will face the Thunder while the Lakers will face the Mavericks in an away game.
