Lakers Look to Extend Streak vs Wolves

The Lakers look to continue their recent momentum as they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. They’re coming off a symbolically significant win over the Dallas Mavericks, and are currently on a three-game winning streak.

Rui Hachimura

Since the Luka Dončić trade it has been widely expected that Rui Hachimura would be moved to the bench in favor of Dorian Finney-Smith, to add more perimeter defense to the starting lineup. Hachimura has remained in the starting five, however, and that decision has paid dividends for the Lakers. Hachimura has been excellent from beyond the three-point line this season, shooting 41%. The focal points offensively are (obviously) LeBron and Luka, but having Hachimura and Reaves alongside them makes the Lakers almost impossible to guard.

Upcoming Schedule

Tonight’s game is a first of a back-to-back, with the Lakers facing the Clippers tomorrow. The stretch coming up for Los Angeles will be extremely important, as they face a gauntlet of the league’s best teams. A key challenge is how they will manage the minutes of their key players due to the high frequency of games being played during this stretch.

They’ll want to find the right balance between pushing for a high playoff seed and managing the minutes of their stars to make sure they are healthy for a deep playoff run. The next few weeks will tell us a lot about the potential of this Laker team.

Can LA pick up another win and close the gap on ? Tip-off is at 7:30 PM PST as the lakers begin their back to back at home to the Timberwolves.