It's easy to think offense when the subject of the Los Angeles Lakers comes up with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
But the Lakers have been playing outstanding defense lately following some recent defensive tweaks and Andrew Bynum being a force in the middle. The Lakers are giving up an average of 86.1 points in their last eight games.
The Lakers should be primed for another strong defensive effort having been idle for four days. Their opponent is the Minnesota Timberwolves whose coach, Kurt Rambis, is a former Laker assistant and a close friend of Phil Jackson and Bryant.
Jackson has gone out of his way not to embarrass his buddy and his pathetic team. The under has cashed the past six times the Lakers have hosted the Timberwolves. Not one of the last eight meetings between the two clubs has gone over the total.
Bryant and Lamar Odom have made sure the Lakers don't run up a score on Rambis not pushing that hard to score easy transition points since the Lakers easily dominate the Timberwolves in all facets. The Lakers are content to play more half-court and slow down against Minnesota.
This is an expected blowout, which means a lot of the Lakers' reserves should play extra minutes. Most of these guys are more about defense than offense. The Lakers host Portland on Sunday in a much bigger game so there's no reason for Jackson to play Bryant and Gasol extensively in this matchup even though they are well-rested.
The Lakers are 12-5 under in their last 17 games at Staples Center when meeting a foe with a losing road mark.
I Like the LAKERS but I LOVE THE UNDER!!!!
Good Luck!!