Minnesota and Los Angeles match up in their opener in what should be an exciting game. Our Timberwolves vs Lakers prediction involves Minnesota starting slow without KAT and losing a close one to LeBron on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minnesota shocked the NBA world in September, opting to partake in a major franchise-altering trade with the New York Knicks. Long-term Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns was shipped off in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a protected 1st-round pick. With the emergence of Naz Reid and the dominance of Rudy Gobert, Minnesota had a logjam of bigs and saw an opportunity to get off of KAT’s massive contract. After adding a scorer in Donte DiVincenzo, they’ll be aiming to beat the Lakers here and prove the trade right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LeBron James will turn 40 years old this season, putting him 10-15 years past his prime. That being said, LeBron is built different than most athletes. He showed no signs of slowing down in the Olympics and appears to be on track for another strong year. Whether his age and use during the summer wear on him as the season progresses is TBD, but LeBron will at the very least enter this season expected to retain his dominance. He’ll be looking for Anthony Davis to stay healthy. Austin Reeves also needs to bounce back after a subpar season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Los Angeles holds the home-court advantage in this matchup, which could prove to be a key factor. The Lakers are sure to have a raucous crowd in the opener, especially against another contender like Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves will aim to mesh as soon as possible with their new assets. Randle won’t be available in this game, but the scoring punch of Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo coupled with Gobert’s defense will be dangerous. Ultimately, we like LeBron’s chances of leading the Lakers to an opening victory.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minnesota and Los Angeles match up in their opener in what should be an exciting game. Our Timberwolves vs Lakers prediction involves Minnesota starting slow without KAT and losing a close one to LeBron on the road. Post-Trade Timberwolves Looking to Mesh Minnesota shocked the NBA world in September, opting to partake in a major […]","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":22507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[459],"tags":[3379],"class_list":["post-23636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-regular-season-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n