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The Los Angeles Lakers will battle to avoid another piece of embarassing history when Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves visit Staples Center. A loss would mean the Lakers set a new franchise-worst losing streak, potentially stretching to 11 losses before hitting the road for a tough four-game road trip.
This will be the final meeting between two legends of the game, should they both play. Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett are from an era that's almost completely behind the NBA, and might get one last chance to lock horns. Garnett has missed five of the last six games, though, while Bryant is touch-and-go with a sore right shoulder.
On the other end of the spectrum is the talented youth both teams harbor. D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Clarkson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine could probably do some damage if they were together as a squad against the rest of the NBA's youth in the Rising Stars Challenge. Russell recently expressed his support for Towns winning the Rookie of the Year award, and it's hard to see it going any other way.
Karl-Anthony is averaging 20 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 53.8 percent from the field. He's had an incredible rookie season, proving why he was the clear-cut No. 1 pick of the draft. The Timberwolves may not be winning very many games, but they won the draft in a landslide. At least for now.
Byron Scott was optimistic with the film session and practice the team had following their blowout loss to the Charlotte Hornets, and we'll see if that translates into a win before they depart from Los Angeles. Enjoy the game, which is a nice showcase of the up-and-coming talent in the league if nothing else.
Time: 7:30 p.m. PT
TV: TWCSN, FSN, NBATV