If he's going to make history, we're going to see the start of it on Tuesday. That should allow him to kick this postseason off with a bang, but we've simply never seen a 20-year veteran lead a team to a championship. Fortunately for James, the player who would have defended him in this matchup, Jaden McDaniels, is out with a broken hand. Well, James is dealing with a foot injury again this time around, and just like in 2021, the Lakers couldn't get him extra rest by avoiding the play-in round entirely. Lakers: Does the old man still have one last run left in him? The last time LeBron James reached the playoffs, he struggled in a first-round loss to the Phoenix Suns due in part to a nagging ankle injury. Here's how you can tune into the first Western Conference play-in game of the season. You never quite know which Timberwolves team is going to show up on a given night.īut with the winner advancing into the playoffs, we should expect everything the Lakers and Timberwolves have to offer. Before that, they won four in a row after losing three. They won their last three games just to earn their way into this game, but lost three straight prior. They've won 18 of their last 26 thanks to the deadline additions of players like D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't expect fireworks in this one. The Lakers will host the Timberwolves on Tuesday in a game that will determine the conference's No. The stakes aren't quite as high 19 years later. The last time the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves met in the postseason, it came in the 2004 Western Conference finals with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal staring down Kevin Garnett.

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