Yes, these teams do have something in common.
You wouldn't think it, not after the Lakers' size and experience buried the Timberwolves in a 97-92 loss on Friday night, but it's true. On Friday night -- and for the rest of the season -- each team was without the point guard that started for them for the majority of 2011-12, the Timberwolves because of an injury and the Lakers because of a trade. But for Los Angeles, playing without Derek Fisher is easy, seamless. It's what the Timberwolves wish it were like to play without Ricky Rubio.
"Let's see, they still have (Pau) Gasol and (Andrew) Bynum and Kobe (Bryant)," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said of the post-trade Lakers. "No, it's not going to make any difference to them."
And it didn't. The little things change -- the Timberwolves' record has improved, players on both teams have come and gone, Kobe Bryant is aging -- but even in this improved Minnesota season, the Lakers are still unbeatable, just as they have been for the past 19 games.
The Timberwolves have come close this season, sure, mounting huge comebacks and even threatening on Friday. But as they swept the season series, 4-0, the Lakers proved they're still on another level. When the Lakers take the court, the Staples Center seems to be in a different world than the Target Center. It's a place where a guard wearing a mask sinks back-to-back threes like it's nothing with a crowd of celebrities looking on. Things like that don't happen in Minneapolis, at least not right now.
With the win, the Lakers pushed their home record to 19-2, a further testament to the power of the Staples Center. Once again, it was the Kobe Bryant show, and he's led the team's scoring effort in each of its games against Minnesota this season. In fact, his 28 points on Friday were the fewest he's scored against the Timberwolves this season after nights of 35, 31 and 34 points earlier this season.
The most glaring difference between the two teams on Friday was from beyond the three-point arc, where the Timberwolves shot just 18.2 percent. Kevin Love, who missed the past two games against the Lakers with an illness and then back problems, finished with 27 points and 15 rebounds. It was yet another double-double that wasn't enough for a win, a solid effort with no support. The bench combined for just 19 points, the opposite of what Adelman hoped before the game, the opposite of what the Timberwolves will need for the rest of this season.
"I think we need to have eight or nine guys step up and play," Adelman said before the game. "Last time at home when (Love) didn't play, we had about six or seven guys who all played very well, and that's how we're going to have to have. He's certainly going to help us, but the other guys have to be there."
That simply didn't happen. Only four players -- Anthony Tolliver, J.J. Barea, Wayne Ellington and Derrick Williams -- came off the bench, despite Adelman saying pregame that Darko Milicic was healthy and available. The Los Angeles bench, by contrast, saw a 17-point night from Matt Barnes and a solid performance from new Laker Ramon Sessions.
With a poor bench performance, the Timberwolves failed to meet their biggest goal in Los Angeles. Despite pulling to within seven with seven minutes remaining in the game -- enough time to realistically mount a comeback -- the Timberwolves were able to overcome neither the Lakers' talent nor their persona. While the Timberwolves' chances against other teams have gone from impossible to realistic this season, somehow the Lakers have remained a tier above. Even that, though, is no excuse.
"I don't care who you're playing," Adelman said. "It doesn't mean you can't win the game."
Losses like this aren't going to define the rest of the season, but as the Timberwolves' goals shift from advancing in the standings to clinging to their current spot, there's no way to deny that they matter.
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