Will the visitors send LeBron on vacation?
The home team has its back against the wall, as a loss would mean elimination. For the fifth matchup between the LA Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, the prediction is for a victory for the visitors in the fourth quarter.
LA Lakers – Statistics & current form
LA coach JJ Reddick will rely primarily on Luka Doncic in offense against the Timberwolves. As so often in recent years, the Slovenian is having a very strong postseason. He has increased his scoring average from 28.2 points in the regular season to 30.8 points in the current series. And that’s against an elite defense.
His performance is all the more impressive given that he only scored 17 points in the third game of the series due to a stomach illness and was clearly struggling. However, he recently scored 38 points again, showing that he has overcome his illness.
Doncic back on fire?
In light of this, the odds for Doncic to score at least 30 points in Game 5 between the LA Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves are also attractive. This is a figure he has always achieved, with the exception of the aforementioned third game against the men from the Target Center. You can place your bets at Bet365, where the bookmaker also has a Bet365 new customer bonus up for grabs.
In addition, the home team is counting on LeBron James and his enormous experience. The 40-year-old has a very high average playing time of more than 40 minutes in the series, proving that he is still in top physical shape despite his advanced age.
He is also in good form: LBJ recorded a double-double in points and rebounds in the last game and now has the most double-doubles in the NBA playoffs after two other NBA legends, Tim Duncan and Magic Johnson!
Minnesota Timberwolves – Statistics & current form
Anthony Edwards is increasingly living up to his role as leader of the visitors. The 2020 first pick has increased his scoring average from game to game in the series against the Lakers. The highlight so far was the last game, in which “Ant-Man” delivered the best performance of any player on the court at the Target Center with 43 points!
Against this backdrop, the prediction of more than 28.5 points by the 23-year-old in Game 5 between the LA Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves seems worth considering again.
The Timberwolves have already held the Lakers under 100 points twice
However, the showpiece of the Northwest Division team is undoubtedly their defense. With players such as Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert, they have several absolute top players at their disposal.
The latter, “Stiftle Tower,” has already won the award for best defensive player of an NBA season four times. This puts the Frenchman on par with NBA icons Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo as record holders in the history of the league! The strength of the visitors’ defense on the road was evident in the first two games of the series in LA. The home team was unable to score more than 94 and 95 points against Coach Chris Finch’s team.
LA Lakers – Minnesota Timberwolves Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The franchise from “Mill City” won the last head-to-head matchup a few days ago 116-113, which was the visitors’ second win in a row. In contrast, however, the Californians have won three of their last four home games against the Timberwolves. The odds also point to a home win for the Lakers in their next home game against Minnesota.
LA Lakers – Minnesota Timberwolves Tip
For Game 5 between the LA Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, the forecast predicts a win for the visitors in the fourth quarter. Although the hosts have started very strongly in the four games of the series so far, winning the first quarter three times, they tend to fade towards the end of the game. Added to this is the pressure to win. A defeat would mean the end of the playoffs for the Lakers.
That’s how they lost this quarter in all four games against Finch’s team! The difference of no less than 36 points in their favor in the final four quarters shows how strong the visitors from “Funkytown” are in crunch time!