The Los Angeles Lakers strengthened their rotation during the abbreviated offseason, realizing that defending their NBA title amid the ongoing pandemic would require ample depth.
The absence of Anthony Davis will give their enhanced roster an extended test.
LeBron James had 30 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists and Dennis Schröder scored 24 points, helping the Lakers defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-104 on Tuesday night.
“We’re not expecting one person to try to pick up A.D.’s productivity. Nobody’s going to be able to do that. He just brings too much to the table. But we all can do more,” James stated.
Montrezl Harrell pitched in 17 points for the Lakers, who stopped a seven-game losing streak at Minnesota with their first victory at Target Center since March 25, 2015. The energy and production provided by the four new players on the 2020-21 squad — Schröder and Marc Gasol with the starters and Harrell and Wes Matthews off the bench — was palpable.
“We’re going to attack this stretch of games and be confident in what we have on this roster, embrace the challenge of playing without A.D. Every guy has got to step up,” coach Frank Vogel said.
Minnesota rookie Anthony Edwards had a career-high 28 points.
The Lakers otherwise played sound defense in the first of what will be several games without Davis, the seven-time All-Star who was shelved with an injury to his Achilles tendon. He aggravated it in a loss at Denver on Sunday that ended the Lakers’ seven-game winning streak.
The Lakers were far from sharp — James had four of his five turnovers in the first quarter — but efficient enough on offense to emerge victorious over the team with the worst record in the league.
“You’ve got to do nearly everything right to come out with a victory against them,” Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said.
Ricky Rubio and Jordan McLaughlin each scored 13 points for the Timberwolves, sharing time at point guard in the continued absence of D’Angelo Russell, who will miss the next four to six weeks after surgery on his left knee.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored a quiet 15 points for the Timberwolves, who were outscored 17-5 to start the fourth quarter after a spirited effort over the first three periods. Towns didn’t even get a shot in the fourth, with Edwards taking over.
“I know Ant had it going, but I’m the point guard out there and I’ve got to know who to get the ball to,” Rubio said.
Harrell’s defense on Towns had something to do with that, too, despite giving up four inches. “I don’t really believe in that smaller stuff, because at the end of the day if you believed in that, man, then the elephant would be the king of the jungle,” Harrell said.
