Joined: 19 Dec 2011 Posts: 20880 Location: Southern California
Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 8:42 pm Post subject: +++Wolves at Lakers 12/20/13+++
Minnesota Timberwolves(13-13)@LA Lakers(12-13)
Game time: 7:30 PST, 10:30 PM EST
Channel: TWC Sportsnet, ESPN
Radio: ESPN 710
Projected Lakers Starters:
PG: Xavier Henry
SG: Jodie Meeks
SF: Wesley Johnson
PF: Jordan Hill
C: Pau Gasol
Head Coach: Mike D'Antoni
Projected Wolves Starters:
PG: Ricky Rubio
SG: Kevin Martin
SF: Corey Brewer
PF: Kevin Love
C: Nikola Pekovic
Head Coach: Rick Adelman
Injury report:
Lakers:
Steve Nash(OUT-back)
Jordan Farmar(OUT-hamstring)
Steve Blake(OUT-elbow)
Kobe Bryant(OUT-fractured tibia)
Wolves:
Kevin Martin(Day to day-knee/played in the Wolves' last game)
Chase Budinger(OUT-knee)
Dante Cunningham(Day to day-ankle/played in the Wolves' last game)
Leaders:
Points: Nikola Pekovic(29)
Rebounds: Kevin Love(15)
Assists: Kevin Love(9)
The last time the Lakers played the Wolves: 11/10/13- The Lakers lost 113-90 at home against the Wolves. That loss snapped a 22 game winning streak over the Wolves, which had previously been the longest active streak in the NBA. Lowlights
Game notes: This will be the second time that the Lakers will be playing the Wolves this season, and the final time that the Lakers will be playing the Wolves at home.
Kobe Bryant is said to be out for more than 6 weeks due to a fractured tibia he suffered during Tuesday night's game against Memphis. The Lakers signed D-league guard Kendall Marshall on Thursday afternoon in response to Kobe's injury.
NBA.com Preview:
Quote:
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Kobe Bryant is expected to miss about six weeks with an injured left knee, dealing the second major injury setback of the year to the Los Angeles Lakers' superstar guard.
An MRI exam on Thursday revealed Bryant has a fracture in his lateral tibial plateau - the top of his shinbone near his knee.
Bryant made his season debut with the Lakers (12-13) on Dec. 8 after nearly eight months away while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. He apparently was hurt again Tuesday in a 96-92 win at Memphis while playing his fourth game in five nights.
After playing six games in 10 days, the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history is out again until February or longer - and the Lakers' already miserable run of injuries got even uglier as they prepare to host Minnesota (13-13) on Friday night.
"You hate it for Kobe," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters after practice Thursday. "He's worked so hard to get back, but he'll be back. He'll be back in six weeks. We've just got to weather the storm until he gets back."
The Lakers also announced Steve Nash will be out for at least four more weeks with nerve root irritation, leaving injury-riddled Los Angeles without its top three point guards and Bryant - who filled in at the point in recent games - for at least another week.
On Thursday afternoon, a tweet was posted on Bryant's official Twitter account that consisted solely of the hashtag: BrokenNotBeaten.
"I think he'll be back in six weeks, and he'll be hunting for some bear," D'Antoni said.
The rest of the Lakers found out about Bryant's injury after practice.
"It's hard to get this type of news, especially when we've got already so many injuries, when we've been through so many injuries the year before," Pau Gasol said. "It just keeps piling up. It's not the best thing for us, for sure, but we've just got to continue to go forward. We understand it can happen."
D'Antoni immediately faced questions about whether the Lakers allowed Bryant to return too quickly from the torn Achilles tendon.
Bryant pushed himself to return to the Lakers quickly, but his left leg appeared to be visibly smaller than his right leg after months of inactivity and atrophy. D'Antoni and the Lakers' top brass often joke about their inability to control Bryant's relentless determination to play, even at the risk of his own health.
"It could happen at any time," D'Antoni said of Bryant's latest injury. "That's part of it. There's always going to be a risk until he gets used to playing, but the doctors are all over it. That's just bad luck."
Bryant matched his season high with 21 points Tuesday, but he went to the floor with 3:25 left in the third quarter. He stayed down briefly before standing up, and Bryant bent over at the waist as he flexed his left leg back and forth. He walked to the bench with trainer Gary Vitti, but returned to the floor following the timeout.
He hit a deep 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter to help clinch the win, Los Angeles' second in six games since his return, and played more than 32 minutes. Bryant said after the game that he twisted his knee, but it felt all right.
"I just hyperextended it," Bryant said when asked to describe what happened on the play. "I tend to hyperextend my knees every now and then."
Without Bryant on Nov. 10, the Lakers saw their 22-game run against the Timberwolves come to an end with a 113-90 home loss. It was the longest active winning streak between two NBA opponents, and Bryant had played in all but one of those victories.
Kevin Love had 25 points and 13 rebounds in last month's meeting and Kevin Martin scored 27 for Minnesota.
Love scored 29 points, grabbed 15 boards and handed out nine assists Wednesday as the Timberwolves beat Portland 120-109 for their fourth win in six games.
"Awesome," Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio said about Love. "There's no words to describe. He's doing a great job leading this team in scoring, rebounding, even assisting. He's taking my job."
Nikola Pekovic had a season-high 30 points and added nine rebounds, while Martin scored 22.
Last edited by Lakers95 on Fri Dec 20, 2013 7:20 pm; edited 3 times in total
Joined: 04 May 2011 Posts: 225 Location: Greer, South Carolina
Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 9:08 pm Post subject:
Interested to see what Marshall brings to the club. Go Lakers! _________________ “If you want to make history, you have to do historic things” - Kobe Bean Bryant
For some reason I feel weird about this game. We're either going to come out completely flat due to the devastating news about Kobe. Or, we'll shock the world and the Timberwolves and end up winning in style.
Joined: 28 Nov 2007 Posts: 11277 Location: Bay Area
Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 9:34 pm Post subject:
madsen35 wrote:
For some reason I feel weird about this game. We're either going to come out completely flat due to the devastating news about Kobe. Or, we'll shock the world and the Timberwolves and end up winning in style.
I'm excited to see Marshall play. I wonder how many minutes MDA will give him. I predict 3 pts, 4 ast in 12 minutes of play.
I'll double that stat line for another $10 bucks.
$20 in. I'll PM ya'll my Pay Pal info after the game so I can collect
Not ashamed to admit when I'm wrong. PM me your pay pal, charity of your choice or donate to LG. Your call.
Last edited by lakerjoshua on Fri Dec 20, 2013 10:55 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Mitch Kupchak has assembled a team with 7 former lottery picks:
