Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 3/3/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Friday, March 3, 2023

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Los Angeles Lakers will go up against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Friday.

The Timberwolves played the Clippers and walked away with a win by a score of 108-101 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Timberwolves walked away with 20 and the Clippers totaled 17 fouls. They knocked down 11 out of their 28 attempts from three-point range. Los Angeles went 87.0% at the free throw line by burying 20 of 23 tries. Furthermore, Los Angeles grabbed 44 boards (9 offensive, 35 defensive) and added 8 rejections. Los Angeles totaled 24 dimes and had 11 steals for this game. When it comes to the defense, Minnesota let their opponent shoot 42.2% from the field on 35 out of 83 shooting. They also recorded 22 assists in this contest while creating 24 turnovers and earning 14 steals. Pertaining to getting rebounds, they collected 46 with 10 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Timberwolves knocked down 13 of their 22 shots for a percentage of 59.1%. Minnesota walked away from the contest having earned a 47.8% FG percentage (43 out of 90) and converted 9 out of their 26 shots from 3-point land.

Jaden McDaniels is someone who was important for this contest. He notched 20 points on 8 out of 12 shooting. He saw the court for 35 minutes and also pulled down 6 boards. McDaniels finished 66.7% from the field and recorded 2 assists.

Get all of our NBA Picks Today

Minnesota will enter this matchup with a mark of 32-32 this year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 15.8 times per contest and as a group are committing 21.7 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Minnesota is snagging 41.5 rebounds per game and has 1,626 assists on the campaign, which ranks 8th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. The Timberwolves are connecting on 35.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (764 of 2,146) and 76.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 115.4 pts per contest (10th in the league) while hitting 49.1% from the field.

On defense, the Timberwolves are forcing 16.0 turnovers every game and they draw 20.0 personal fouls. They currently rank 26th in the NBA in allowing assists with 1,631 relinquished this season. The Timberwolves defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 46.9% (2,661 of 5,674) and they surrender 44.7 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are conceding 36.8% from 3-point land and they rank 18th in the NBA in points per game allowed (115.5).

The last time they took the court, the Lakers went home victorious with a score of 123-117 against the Thunder. When talking about team rebounding, Los Angeles allowed Oklahoma City to get 42 overall (12 on the offensive glass). They finished 27.5% from downtown via 11 out of 40 and finished the game at 18 of 24 from the free throw line (75.0%). The Lakers permitted the Thunder to bury 44 out of 91 tries from the floor which had them shooting 48.4% for the contest. In all, the Lakers walked away from this one shooting 38 for 80 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.5%. In reference to shots from downtown, Los Angeles buried 16 out of their 35 tries (45.7%). They were able to bury 31 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 79.5%. The Thunder were called for 27 personal fouls in this game which took the Lakers to the free throw line for a total of 39 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 13 times, while getting 8 steals for the contest. The Lakers earned 31 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards for a total of 41 for this contest.

Dennis Schroder ended up being a factor for the Lakers in the matchup. He buried 8 out of 18 in the game for a field goal percentage of 44.4%, and had 2 rebounds. Schroder tallied 26 points in his 37 mins on the court and earned 6 assists for this game.

Los Angeles has a record of 30-33 for the year. The Lakers have committed 18.5 fouls every game and they hit 77.5% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 25.1 times per game (14th in the NBA) and they are giving up possession 14.2 times per contest. Los Angeles has scored 7,371 pts for the year (117.0 per contest) and they snag 45.8 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Lakers are shooting 48.0% from the field, which ranks 10th in the league.

The Lakers on defense are ranked 25th in basketball in points allowed per contest with 117.9. They have forced 12.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 47.0% from the floor (11th in the league). The Los Angeles defense allows 34.4% on 3-point shots (796 of 2,315) and their opponents are making 77.0% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 25.8 dimes and 45.7 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 21st and 27th in the NBA.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Minnesota

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here