Tune-In Tidbits: Lakers vs. Sixers and Wolves vs. Warriors on ESPN
LeBron James is coming off a 46-point performance in Cleveland on Monday, his highest scoring game since November 2018.
Get ready for Wednesday’s ESPN doubleheader with five key stats to know about each matchup.
Lakers (14-4) at Sixers (12-6), 7:30 ET, ESPN
• With their win in Cleveland on Monday, the Lakers improved to 10-0 on the road, becoming just the sixth team in NBA history to open a season with at least 10 straight road wins. The Lakers go for No. 11 on Wednesday in Philadelphia where the Sixers are an NBA-best 9-1 at home. The Lakers have outscored their opponents by an average of 12.5 points on the road, while the Sixers own a point differential of 7.8 at home.
• LeBron James scored a season-high 46 points in the Lakers win against the Cavs on Monday, increasing his season average to 25.2 ppg. Since his second year in the NBA (2004-05), LeBron has never averaged fewer than 25 points in a season.
• Sixers center and reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week Joel Embiid enters Wednesday as the only player in the NBA to rank in the top 10 in both scoring (27.7 ppg, fifth) and rebounding (11.5, seventh).
• The Sixers rank second in the NBA in fast break points (16.4 per game), led by Tobias Harris, who ranks second among all players with 4.8 fast break points per game. However, the Sixers also allow the most fast break points per game to their opponents (17.1 per game).
• The Sixers lead the NBA in rim protection, allowing opponents to shoot just 57.3% while defending the basket. That defense will be tested against a Lakers team that shoots 67.6% inside the restricted area (4th in NBA) and are led by two players in the top 12 in restricted area field goals made — LeBron James (4.4 per game, 71.2% FG) and Montrezl Harrell (4.2 per game, 76.8%).
Timberwolves (4-12) at Warriors (9-8), 10 ET, ESPN
• This is the second meeting in three days for these teams with Golden State striking first with a 130-108 win over Monday behind 36 points from Stephen Curry. The Warriors are 6-2 this season when Curry scores at least 30 points; and 4-1 when he reaches 35 points.
• Curry spent 5:40 (49.3%) of his offensive matchup time being defended by either Ricky Rubio or Jordan McLaughlin and was held to seven points on 3-for-8 shooting from the field and 1-for-4 from 3-point range. However, when Curry was able to find matchups with Jarred Vanderbilt (1:50) and Josh Okogie (0:42) he could not miss. In that 2:32 of matchup time, Curry scored 21 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field, including four 3-pointers.
• Malik Beasley led the Timberwolves with a season-high 30 points in the loss. It was the just the second 30+ point game of Beasley’s career and the first since Feb. 1, 2019 as a member of the Denver Nuggets. Similar to Curry, Beasley took advantage of specific matchups. In 6:45 against either Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green or Mychal Mulder. Beasley scored 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting. In just 56 seconds against either Kent Bazemore or Kevon Looney, Beasley scored 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting, with three 3-pointers.
• Andrew Wiggins finished with 23 points, six rebounds, three steals and three blocks in 30 minutes against his former team. Wiggins has 42 career games with at least three steals and 19 games with at least three blocks, but this was the first game of his career with at least three in both categories.
• In the first meeting of the top two picks in the 2020 NBA Draft, Anthony Edwards finished with 15 points and three rebounds in 27 minutes for the Wolves, while James Wiseman had 13 points, four rebounds and two blocks in just 16 minutes for the Warriors.
