Lakers 127, Wolves 91: Sunday Scaries

One night after securing their second (and most impressive) win of the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves traveled south to Los Angeles for what appeared to be a pseudo-double-header between the Lakers (Sunday night) and the Clippers (Tuesday night)

The wave of endorphins that came from Saturday’s impressive win against Utah Jazz leaked into Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon, especially after it was initially reported that Karl-Anthony Towns would surprisingly have a chance to play in the match against LAL, despite dropping his left wrist extremely the night before.

And then:

As you already know, Woj would continue reporting that there was “optimism that this will be a relatively short absence for Towns”, and Ryan Saunders doubled down in this pre-game when he told the media that KAT would be considered “Week by week”, but that surgery (as Woj originally reported) was not necessary.

For someone who thrives with optimism like me (it is a blessing and a curse), this news came as a great sigh of relief, as it seemed that when the injury first occurred in Salt Lake City, Towns had really broken his wrist and it would be several months, not weeks.

So that was my approach with the glass half full towards the Sunday night showdown against the Lakers, who were also without their great protagonist in Anthony Davis due to a calf injury. That half-full glass was quickly drunk three minutes after the first quarter, as that was when the game not only ran away from the forest wolves, but was inevitably put to sleep.

There is no point in recapping what happened at NBATV on Sunday night against defending champion Lakers. When the schedule was released a few weeks ago, Sunday night’s national TV game appeared to be a guaranteed “L” due to a mixture of being the second night in a row and the Lakers being – you know – really Good. Mingle in Karl’s absence due to his wrist injury and my overall expectations for game # 3 were very low.

And yet, somehow, the wolves were unable to find them. Kyle Kuzma started the game by playing (and looking like) a lit match, scoring LA with 14 points in the first quarter, including four points out of three. The entire Lakers squad was largely blacked out from the start, connecting on 13 of 35 3PAs, while the Timberwolves shot only 6 of 35 (17.1%)

To make matters worse, Josh Okogie left the game in the second quarter with what appeared to be an apparent (and quite serious) injury to the hamstring or knee, although it was later announced that Josh was simply experiencing cramps, according to Timberwolves PR:

While this would be another HUGE sigh of relief because of the injuries, this situation with JO is still worth monitoring, especially when you consider that the team originally announced Towns as QUESTIONABLE for Sunday’s game before relegating it to OUT for what looks like be several weeks. Regardless of the severity (or lack thereof) of Josh’s injury, two injuries to two starters in less than 24 hours is a disastrous way to springboard from a 2-0 start to the season, and will fall on coach Ryan Saunders and his coaching staff to preach a “next man” mentality until Josh and Karl can return.

The Wolves will remain in LA to begin the last week of 2020 as they prepare for the other Staples Center resident – the Los Angeles Clippers – who are coming out of their own public humiliation early on Sunday, when they lost on the same floor to the Dallas Mavericks for 51 (yes fifty-one) Clippers will undoubtedly be motivated to get a taste of this historic loss out of their mouths, and what better way to do that than against a Minnesota Timberwolves squad with few crew members and staggering!

On a much lighter (and slightly more optimistic) note, when the Wolves set out on this challenging three-game trip, I tweeted that it would be a great advantage for the team to somehow steal a game and return to the Target Center by playing .500 ball, and after surprising Jazz in Salt Lake City, Minnesota will have accomplished just that.

Now, that proclamation did not take into account the loss of one (or perhaps several) titleholders to semi-extended absences, but nevertheless, the wolves must return home for their Friday night fight against the Wizards with at least one record. 2-2, and depending on how Towns progresses with his rehab, the 2020-2021 season may not be in serious danger yet (or at least I hope so).

Game notes:

• After not having co-starred in any of the first two Wolves competitions, Juancho Hernangomez finally entered the board (literally) against the Lakers, scoring his first official basket (s) of the 2020-2021 season, ending the game with 6 points and 5 rebounds (in 13 minutes condensed).
• Junacho’s PF brothers – Jake Layman – were not much better, scoring 10 points out of 4 out of 8 shots and earning 3 rebounds in the 15 minutes he played. Ryan Saunders emptied the CEDO bank in the Sunday night explosion, so it’s really hard to get a lot of information on his performance, but a simple eyesight test will tell you that both players are PRESSING now and have confidence in debuting Jarrett Culver’s season level when they’re on the floor. With the cities left aside week by week, the wolves will need these two guys to get out of this if they want to keep the boat afloat, and if none of them show signs of life, it might be time to give the Rondae Hollis-Jefferson a call (yet we have his number, right?)
• Speaking of powerful strikers – Jayden McDaniels made his NBA debut at the end of the fourth period on Sunday night and abruptly hit two quick (and really smooth!) Three-point strokes. Former Washington Huskie also managed two steals and a rebound at the time of trash, and although he looked like he weighed in at about 160 pounds soaked, I thought the newbie showed some really intriguing things in the eight or more minutes he was there. McDaniels just turned 20 in September and was considered a project when the Wolves selected him at the end of the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft, but if the team continues to receive almost nothing from their FP brigade, it may be worth a shot. throwing McDaniels to the wolves (no pun intended) and seeing how he responds.
• Marc Gasol accompanied the Lakers with a team of 8 assists and 4 blocks, despite playing in just under 21 minutes of action. Like many other players now in the Association, Gasol still seems to be playing in form, but if he manages to regain some of the shape he had during his tenure with the Toronto Raptors, defending champions may be even more likely to repeat next summer.

Game highlights (NSFW):