This matchup looks a fundamental problem for the Lakers, who simply don't have the same sort of athleticism on their roster as do the T-wolves. LeBron, though able to pick up the pace in Game 3 with 38 points as Doncic was laboring, has often looked slow in this series, his age especially apparent at times on the stop end. LA's only win in this series came when the Wolves went ice-cold from beyond the arc in Game 2. Thus far, the T-wolves defense ahs been the story, holding the Lakers to barely 97 ppg in the first three clashes, while Jaden McDaniels has been the featured "other" in this series with tallies of 25 points (Game One) and 30 points (Game Three). Play T-wolves

Once more Saturday was unders day in NBA playoff action, cashing in three of four opportunities and moving to an impressive 18-8 thus far in the first round. One of the eight overs happened to be Game 3 on Friday in this series when the Tt-Wolves won 116-104, which has helped bumped Sunday's total up slightly to 208.5/209. But this has still been a defense-oriented series and reflected by the fact the lake Show is scoring barely 97 pg thru the first three, and hasn't been able to get Luka Doncic and LeBron clicking at the same time, partly due to T-wolves defensive pressure. Note that the first six meetings between these two this season landed under before Friday night. Play Lakers-Wolves Under

The Lakers are playing their big four (Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura) a ton of minutes and I expect that to continue in a crucial Game 4. Austin Reaves has cleared this prop total in two straight, registering 11 and 10 combined rebounds and assists. He also cleared it in all three regular-season meetings with Minnesota. I'd still play this Over 9.5 at plus-money.

The Lakers lost Game 3 in Minnesota with Luka Doncic battling a stomach illness. After scoring at least 31 points in both of the first two games of the series, Doncic only scored 17 points in Game 3. After Saturday’s off day, I expect Doncic to be in better shape Sunday. If the Lakers lose this game, they’d have to win three straight to advance to the next round. We saw how they responded to loss in Game 1, holding the Timberwolves to 85 points while winning Game 2. I like the chances for a healthier Doncic and a determined LeBron James to help the Lakers even up this series.

Minnesota is the better team and the younger team and, at the same time, in some ways, the more experienced playoff team at least when it comes to the depth of their roster than has won multiple series the last few years. They have won super low-scoring games and higher-scoring games and it's clear they can frustrate the Lakers offense. How long can LBJ keep doing what he's doing? And the fact his supporting cast has come up so small has to be playing some mind games on that locker room. JJ Reddick hasn't ever coached his way through something like this before and I expect the Wolves to put the stranglehold on the series at home, where their D shows up even bigger.