Tip-off: Tuesday, 10:30 p.m. ET
Line: Minnesota -4.0

The Lakers will be looking to avoid an 11th consecutive loss when they host the Timberwolves on Tuesday.

Both the Timberwolves and the Lakers are struggling mightily entering Tuesday’s meeting. Minnesota is coming off of a 96-93 loss in Portland on Sunday and the team has now lost four straight games. The Timberwolves have been lousy defensively, allowing their opponents to shoot 50% or better from the field in three of the past four games and they will need to be a lot better moving forward. The Lakers, meanwhile, have now lost 10 straight games and this team has been a disaster on both ends of the floor. Los Angeles has scored over 100 points in just one of the past 10 games and its opponents have scored over 100 points in all but one of those contests. These two teams have met twice this season and the Timberwolves have won both meetings SU. They even won 112-111 as three-point underdogs at Staples Center on Oct. 28. One trend favoring Minnesota in this one is the fact that the team is 10-2 ATS in road games after playing two consecutive games as an underdog this season. The Lakers, however, are 9-1 ATS after a game with five or less offensive rebounds over the past two seasons. Both C Nikola Pekovic (Foot) and SG Kevin Martin (Wrist) are expected to miss this game for the Timberwolves and SG Kobe Bryant (Shoulder) is questionable for Los Angeles.

The Timberwolves have a ton of young talent, but they just have not been able to put it all together. They do have a chance to get back into the win column on Tuesday, though. This Lakers team is extremely beatable and has not had a match for C Karl-Anthony Towns (16.6 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.8 BPG) on the year. In two meetings with Los Angeles, Towns is averaging 20.0 PPG and 13.0 RPG on 58.6% shooting from the field. He has also been on fire recently, averaging 26.5 PPG and 12.5 RPG over the past two games. He should be able to dominate on Tuesday, especially considering he’ll get a bump in minutes with some of the Timberwolves’ big men out with injury. One guy that will need to be much better for this Minnesota team is SF Andrew Wiggins (20.4 PPG). Wiggins has been a disaster over the past two games, averaging just 10.0 PPG on 5-for-29 shooting from the field. If Wiggins does not start playing better then the Timberwolves will be destined for another pick at the top of the draft, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He should, however, get back on track against the Lakers.

The Lakers are one of the worst teams in the league on both ends of the floor, but they will need to dig deep and end their losing streak at Staples Center on Tuesday. One guy the Lakers will be riding in this game is PF Julius Randle (10.9 PPG, 9.7 RPG). Randle has been playing some of the best basketball of his career these past few weeks, averaging 14.8 PPG and 10.6 RPG on 50.9% shooting from the field over the past five games. Randle has been aggressive going to the rim and will need to continue to take good shots the rest of the season. SG Kobe Bryant (15.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.0 SPG) played very well in a loss to the Hornets on Sunday, finishing with 23 points, eight boards, three assists and two steals in 23 minutes of action. He would provide a major spark for the Lakers if he can suit up for the team on Tuesday. One guy that must step it up on Tuesday is C Roy Hibbert (6.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.7 BPG). Hibbert is averaging 10.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 1.5 BPG in two meetings with Minnesota this season. He’ll be asked to guard Towns for a large majority of this one and must hold his own if the Lakers are going to win.