Wolves vs. Lakers | 7:30 p.m. CST, Thomas & Mack Center
Where To Watch: NBATV
The moment we’ve all been waiting for.
Well, it’s not the start of the regular season. But it is the first time for fans to watch rookies Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyus Jones and D’Angelo Russell in real game action.
The Wolves have a pretty loaded roster as far as Summer League goes.
There’s Towns and Jones, sure. But there’s also Zach LaVine, who had a pretty solid rookie season, Adreian Payne and Lorenzo Brown.
Summer League is supposed to be about getting young players reps and get acquainted with the rules of the NBA. For the Wolves, though, you can believe that they will be doing their best to do those things, but also to win the tournament. The talent is certainly there to do so.
The Lakers have a pretty talented roster themselves. There’s Jordan Clarkson, who like LaVine, had a solid rookie season. Then there’s No. 2 overall pick D’Angelo Russell and last year’s No. 7 pick Julius Randle, who missed 81 games last season due to a broken leg.
There’s a solid chance that one of these teams could be hoisting the Summer League trophy when this tournament is all said and done. That would certainly be a confidence boost for two teams that struggled in 2014-15.
LAST MEETING
The Wolves and Lakers last faced off on April 10 at the STAPLES Center. Clarkson had a nice night for the Lakers, finishing with 18 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four assists. He shot 8-of-18 from the field, 1-of-3 from the three-point line and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line.
LaVine finished with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Wolves. He shot 6-of-12 from the field, 2-of-5 from the three-point line and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Payne added 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal. Brown added 10 points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals in 30 minutes off the bench.
KEY MATCHUP: KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS VS. D’ANGELO RUSSELL
Normally we have to wait until midseason to see a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 picks overall.
Let’s just get this out of the way ASAP. While Towns going first overall to the Wolves wasn’t much of a surprise, Russell going two to the Lakers kind of was. Many draft experts had the Lakers pairing Duke center Jahlil Okafor with Randle.
Towns and Russell won’t be directly matched up against each other, obviously. That’d be a bold coaching strategy, though. The two will be compared to each other for their careers, as is the case with many top two picks. Think Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley or Greg Oden and Kevin Durant.
Towns is coming off of a freshman year at Kentucky in which he wasn’t asked to be the team’s star. The team had plenty of star power, but he was still a consensus All-American, averaging 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 21 minutes of play per game.
Russell, who constantly told reporters that he thought he was the best player in the draft, was in a different situation. He played 33.9 minutes per game on a thin Ohio State roster and averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 rebounds per game. He was also named to the All-American First Team.
There’s a good chance that Russell and Wolves forward Sam Thompson will share a laugh or two on the court. The two were teammates last season. Thompson averaged 10.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Lakers: PG – Jordan Clarkson, SG – D’Angelo Russell, SF – Larry Nance Jr., PF, Julius Randle, C – Robert Upshaw
Wolves: PG – Lorenzo Brown, SG – Zach LaVine, SF – Othyus Jeffers, PF – Adreian Payne, C – Karl-Anthony Towns