FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

The Lakers finally managed to beat a good team with a convincing end-to-end performance against the Knicks. But the next measuring-stick game arrives immediately. And it won’t be the last one. Three of the next four games on the schedule will present a similar test.

Source: NBA official website

Every game matters in the packed Western Conference standings, and games against direct rivals matter even more. With a win, the Lakers could take the third spot away from the Timberwolves. A loss could leave them just one game ahead of the Suns and the play-in spot.

Source: ESPN

The Timberwolves are healthy and playing at a high level, having won eight of their last ten games, and will be motivated to avenge two early-season losses, especially the last one that ended on an Austin Reaves game-winning buzzer-beating floater.

For the Lakers, the key question is the availability of LeBron James, who is listed as questionable with a right hip contusion and left foot arthritis.

Lakers (39-25) vs Timberwolves (40-24) game facts

Rest: LAL on 1 day of rest; MIN on 2 days of rest

Ranking: LAL 14th in Point Diff (+1.1), MIN 7th in Point Diff (+5.0)

LAL vs MIN 2025-26 record: 2-0 (see Game 2 observations here, Game 5 observations here)

LAL injuries: LeBron James (questionable)

MIN injuries: Kyle Anderson (questionable)

LAL projected starting five: Luka Dončić (G), Marcus Smart (G), Austin Reaves (G), Rui Hachimura (F), Deandre Ayton (C)

LAL key reserves: Luke Kennard, Jake LaRavia, Jaxson Hayes, Maxi Kleber, Jarred Vanderbilt

MIN projected starting five: Donte DiVincenzo (G), Anthony Edwards (G), Jaden McDaniels (F), Julius Randle (F), Rudy Gobert (C)

MIN key reserves: Naz Reid, Ayo Dosunmu, Bones Hyland, Kyle Anderson, Terrence Shannon Jr.

Key storyline: Which Deandre Ayton will show up?
The biggest story around the Lakers after the last game has been, of course, how the team looked without James in the lineup. The addition of a hip contusion to the injury report could potentially prolong his absence. However, if he returns, all eyes again will be on the inner workings of the Lakers’ star trio.

With or without James, Deandre Ayton could be the player to watch. Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle bullied the undersized Lakers inside and on the glass in the playoffs, and Ayton has the bulk and size to compete with them. His 17-point, 10-rebound, 1-block performance, where he thoroughly outplayed Gobert in the second matchup, was one of his more memorable games this season. Most of them came earlier in the season, and Ayton’s play and minutes have diminished since. The Lakers will need Ayton to play solid minutes and prevent Gobert from dominating the paint and the glass on both ends.

Lakers on offense | Timberwolves on defense

The Lakers had two heroes in their two early-season wins against the Timberwolves. Luka Dončić scored 49 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists in a dominant performance that forced Chris Finch to move away from drop coverage with Gobert and then manipulated the more aggressive coverages with his passing. Dončić and Anthony Edwards missed the second matchup, when Reaves was the best player on the floor with 28 points, 16 assists, and a game winner. Tonight, the Lakers will probably need both to replicate the deadly one-two punch we saw in the last game against the Knicks.

Dončić vs. Gobert is always the crucial matchup in any game with these two on the floor. The Frenchman is having another Defensive Player of the Year–caliber season, and the Timberwolves allow an astonishing 13.1 fewer points per 100 possessions when he is on the floor. That impact is even higher than that of his fellow countryman Victor Wembanyama. Defense that features Gobert, paired with another defensive specimen, Jaden McDaniels, is tough to crack. But Dončić, with his strength and on nights when his mid-range and outside shot are falling, is the player who has been able to force Finch into uncomfortable decisions on several occasions in the past.

With the addition of Luke Kennard, the Lakers now have the optionality to surround Dončić and Reaves with shooting, making their lives easier against one of the best paint-protecting defenses in the league.

Timberwolves on offense | Lakers on defense

How to deal with Anthony Edwards, who is having a career year with 29.6 points per game while shooting 41 percent from three, is always the most important item on the Timberwolves’ scouting report. The Lakers have had success in recent games with a proactive defensive approach, limiting players like Zion Williamson, Nikola Jokić, and Jalen Brunson, and they will need to muster that same urgency and force against the Ant-Man. Throwing different looks and help at him, and trying to turn him into more of a passer and playmaker, will probably be the plan.

The problem for JJ Redick is that Edwards is not the only threat. Julius Randle averaged 29.5 points in two games against the Lakers this season. He is shooting only 31 percent from three this year, but he made 8 of 15 against the team that drafted him. Besides Randle, all other key Timberwolves rotation players are having strong shooting seasons. Edwards is at 41 percent, McDaniels 43 percent, DiVincenzo 39 percent, Reid 38 percent, and Dosunmu 36 percent. That makes it one of the better three-point shooting rotations in the league, which makes helping on Edwards much more difficult, especially when Gobert is on the bench.

The key for the Lakers’ defense, like against any physical and athletic team, will be their offense. They need to limit turnovers and bad misses that allow the Timberwolves to get out in transition. Minnesota is the second-most efficient team in transition, according to Cleaning the Glass, and attacking the Lakers on the run is always a priority for them. The deadline addition of Ayo Dosunmu has made the Timberwolves even faster. He is currently their top scorer in fast-break points on a per-100-possessions basis.

Final thoughts

A good win against the Knicks took some pressure off the Lakers’ shoulders. Another quality win against a direct rival would prove that it wasn’t a fluke and that the Lakers might be more competitive than most of us thought. Let them prove us wrong again.

The last time the Lakers played the Timberwolves, AR called game 😈🔥pic.twitter.com/Q82X1nWhA2 https://t.co/FqkgULIVRq— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) March 10, 2026

THE LAKERS PLAY BASKETBALL TODAY!!!With a win, they will secure the season tiebreaker over Minnesota 🤝If the Rockets also lose, the Lakers will be the 3rd seed 👀 pic.twitter.com/6xdk9KMDgC— LakersMuse (@LALMuse) March 10, 2026

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

The 3-point shooting is suddenly dangerous in Los Angeles.

“Mid” would have been a kind way to describe the Los Angeles Lakers’ floor spacing and 3-point shooting before the arrival of Luke Kennard. It is crazy to see just how much one man can change the entire outlook of a given area for a team with his presence. The improvement has been drastic.

Before Kennard’s arrival, the Lakers were in the bottom half of the league when it comes to 3-point shooting. They were tied for 18th with the Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz, and Detroit Pistons with a mark of 35.0 percent from beyond the arc. The caveat there being they shot the second-lowest volume of those four teams, only putting up 33.8 attempts per game.

Overall, that number had them bottom-10 in the NBA. The Lakers ranked 23rd in the league for 3-point attempts on average before Kennard suited up for Los Angeles. All of this makes the turnaround for the team something to marvel at.

On one hand, the number of shots going up in Los Angeles has not increased over the 14 games that Kennard has donned purple and gold. Their volume remains fairly similar. However, the success rate is vastly different. The Lakers are hitting 39.2 percent of their shots from deep over that span. That places them second in the NBA, only trailing the Charlotte Hornets (40.2) during that time.

Opposing teams are suddenly forced to guard the Lakers from 3-point land.

It’s not just Kennard who is doing all the work from downtown over the last 14 games. Quite frankly, his slice of the pie is not massive by any means.

Kennard only accounts for 3.4 attempts per game of the Lakers’ total 33.0 opportunities taken from triple over this recent stretch. However, the veteran sharpshooter spaces the floor and opens up opportunities for his teammates in the process. Take Luka Doncic as a prime example of that.

Doncic has appeared in 10 of the last 14 games for the Lakers. The superstar guard also takes, by far, the most attempts from distance of anyone on the team. After struggling before the All-Star break, Luka has his magic back.

Doncic is connecting on 42.2 percent of his 10.9 attempts per game with the deep ball. The volume shot by the Lakers superstar ranks third in the NBA in the last 14 games. That efficiency is a game-changer, and Los Angeles is reaping the benefits of it.

The Lakers would love to keep having this type of success throughout the remainder of the season and into the NBA Playoffs. It would give them one less thing to worry about in a campaign that has a ton of question floating over their heads.

Imagine if the Lakers could turn Rui and Luke from guys who take 4 3-point shots per game to volume shooters who take 8 threes per game. That’s the next step to creating spacing and a positive 3-point differential with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Brian Windhorst on the Lakers without LeBron:“When LeBron doesn’t play and Austin Reaves and Luka do, the Lakers are a better team… The numbers say when Luka and Reaves play together, the Lakers are a really good team”(Via @FirstTake) pic.twitter.com/wrtmEWsnAd— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) March 9, 2026

Are the Lakers better WITHOUT LeBron? 🤔They’re 9-2 this season with both Luka and AR but no LeBron… and they’ve beaten the Spurs, Timberwolves, and Knicks 👀 pic.twitter.com/JtyVlm6CvE— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) March 8, 2026

The Lakers aren’t better without LeBron — but Reaves should be the second option pic.twitter.com/jc4oNt870T— Hoops Tonight (@hoopstonite) March 9, 2026