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Heading into a
rematch of last season's first-round playoff series, the Los Angeles Lakers
will likely be without two of their stars and the Minnesota Timberwolves have
two new ones to throw at them.
Karl Malone will sit out, and Shaquille O'Neal will likely join him on the bench
as the Lakers take on Latrell Sprewell, Sam Cassell and the Timberwolves for
the first time this season.
Malone was placed on the injured list Sunday for the first time in his 19-year career due to a sprained ligament in his right knee. O'Neal missed Sunday's 101-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers due to a strained right calf.
He traveled to Minnesota with the team, but coach Phil Jackson doesn't expect his star center to play on a two-game road trip.
``His progress
has been so slow. He's still limping,'' Jackson said after practice Monday before
the flight to Minnesota. ``It's kind of undefinable -- this injury. It's not
something you can measure.''
O'Neal keyed the team's six-game playoff triumph over Minnesota in last season's
opening round. Minnesota suffered its seventh straight opening-round exit despite
having home-court advantage for the first time.
However, Sprewell and Cassell were not around for that series. Those two offseason additions have made many believe the Timberwolves can finally advance past the first round. They're combining to average more than 38 points and 11 assists per game.
Since getting off to an unimpressive 9-8 start, Minnesota has won 12 of 15 to move within a game of the San Antonio Spurs for the Midwest Division lead.
The Lakers have gone in the other direction. They have lost six of nine since opening the season 18-3, falling 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Sacramento Kings in the Pacific Division.
Poor defense has caused Los Angeles' recent struggles, as the Lakers have surrendered an average of 102.4 points in the last nine games.
``Defense wins championships, and until we do that, you will see some (losses) in the column,'' said Horace Grant, who started for O'Neal against the Clippers.
Bad defense also plagued the Timberwolves on Saturday in a 119-112 loss at Dallas as they allowed the Mavericks to shoot 51 percent from the field. It was just the fifth time this season Minnesota gave up 100 points.
``We've been pretty good defensively, but tonight we were not good and they had a lot to do with that,'' Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders said.