Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers -6

Over/Under 239

  • The Timberwolves are still looking for their first road win of the season after they lost to the Clippers 120-109 at Staples Center Monday night.

  • Minnesota defeated the Lakers 124-120 in Minnesota last week behind 32 points, including five three-pointers, from Jimmy Butler .

  • Butler is expected to play Wednesday after he played 39 minutes Monday night.

  • The Lakers are coming off a 121-107 loss to the Raptors, who were without Kawhi Leonard .

  • The Lakers are allowing 120 points per game, 27th in the NBA.

  • Tyson Chandler will be available for Wednesday’s game after officially joining the Lakers on Tuesday, and he should help the defense, even if he plays a limited role initially.

  • Chandler could also help on the boards, where the Lakers are 24th in rebounding differential at -3.8.

  • Minnesota is even worse on the boards than the Lakers, with a 49.6 percent rebounding rate compared to 48.7 percent for L.A.

  • JaVale McGee was already seeing his minutes decline even before Chandler joined the team. McGee played a season-low 17 minutes against Toronto, finishing with eight points and six rebounds.

  • McGee has been arguably the most consistent Laker outside of LeBron, even with the dip in playing time.

  • Jeff Teague remains out for the Timberwolves, and he will miss his fifth consecutive game Wednesday. Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler have played just five minutes together since October 29, so it will be interesting to see how they share the ball, especially with Teague out.

  • Karl-Anthony Towns has been more inconsistent with Butler in the lineup, but he does have four double-doubles in his last five games. Towns is also averaging 2.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game this season.

  • Minnesota has been nearly as bad defensively as the Lakers, allowing 117.7 ppg this season. Minnesota has not been as good as the Lakers, however, on the offensive end. The Lakers are averaging 118.9 ppg, third in the NBA, while Minnesota is all the way back in 16th at 110.6.

  • That is at least partially the result of pace, as the Lakers play with the third highest pace in the NBA and the Timberwolves play at the 11th fastest pace.

  • These teams profile similarly in regards to assists as well. Minnesota ranks 20th in assists rate at 56.4 percent while the Lakers are 23rd at 55.3 percent.

  • One area in which innesota has been much better than the Lakers is turnover rate. Minnesota has the second lowest turnover rate in the NBA at 11.4 percent. The Lakers are in the middle of the pack at 14.3 percent.

  • If it seems like LeBron is more passive on offense this season, you are probably right. His 32.5 percent usage rate this season is his lowest since 2013-14, his last season in Miami, per cleaningtheglass.com.

  • Derrick Rose has the highest usage rate for Minnesota, at 28.5 percent. That is his highest since he left Chicago.

  • Keep an eye on whether or not the Lakers shake up the starting lineup after they were outscored 42-17 in the first quarter Sunday. The Lakers have started LeBron, McGee, Kyle Kuzma , Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball in all four games since Ingram returned from his four-game suspension. That is Luke Walton’s most used lineup, and one of his worst. That lineup has a -10.3 net rating in 60 minutes. The only lineup Walton has played more than seven minutes that has fared worse is LeBron, Lance Stephenson , Lonzo, Kuzma and Josh Hart , which has a -24.6 net rating.

  • Minnesota’s presumptive starting lineup of Rose, Butler, Andrew Wiggins , Taj Gibson and Towns has played together in just one game, for a total of 25 minutes. That lineup has a 112.7 defensive rating and a -12.7 net rating.

  • Wiggins missed three games in October with a quad injury, including the first game against the Lakers. Wiggins is averaging 16.8 ppg on 39.8 percent shooting, both of which would be career lows.