Lakers fans ooze optimism in playoffs after thrashing wounded Wolves: "Only Nuggets is our Kryptonite"

The LA Lakers took care of business against the shorthanded Minnesota Timberwolves with a 120-109 blowout win on Sunday. The Timberwolves played without the frontline of Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Kyle Anderson. While Towns is out for multiple weeks with knee surgery, Gobert and Anderson were late scratches.

The Lakers, meanwhile, also missed a few role players but had all their starters available. They made the most of it, especially Anthony Davis. The Lakers big man had a one-of-one never seen before 27-point, 25-rebound, five assists, seven steals and three blocks game on 52.9% shooting.

With Gobert and Towns both out, Davis pummelled the undersized Timberwolves, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds. He fell one rebound short of tying his career-high of 26.

Meanwhile, LeBron James had 29 points, eight rebounds and nine assists on 10 of 16 shooting on his return. He missed Friday's 123-122 win over the Milwaukee Bucks with an ankle injury. The Lakers improved to 36-30, going six games above .500 for the first time since the 2020-2021 season.

Lakers fans ride big on playoff aspirations after dominant win over shorthanded T'Wolves

The win against the T'Wolves has instilled tremendous confidence in the Lakers faithful about the team's chances of contending this year. LA is sitting ninth but chipping away at the gap with the six and seven seeds. The Lakers are three games back in the loss column from the sixth-placed Phoenix Suns and seventh placed-Sacramento Kings.

It's a likely proposition for them to grab a top-six finish or favorable play-in seeding. Either could help them avoid the Denver Nuggets, who they have lost against eight times in a row. The Lakers fans online were largely optimistic about another deep playoff push post-Sunday's result, as they have now beaten nine of the top 10 seeds except Denver.

"I be telling you it’s only nuggets is our kryptonite," one fan wrote.

More reactions followed:

Lakers continue to match up well against undersized teams

The LA Lakers season has been up and down and highly unpredictable. They have won games they could have lost and lost games they could have won. The inconsistency has questions being raised over their legitimacy as title contenders. However, LA still has one of the best rosters in the NBA this season.

The size and depth have been key to their success against several teams, especially the undersized rosters. The Timberwolves happened to be an undersized team on the day with Gobert, Towns and Anderson out injured, and the Lakers ensured they got the better of them.

LA has been at an advantage against the Clippers, Thunder and Suns because of its size advantage. The Lakers will hope they match up against a smaller team in the playoffs, as that's been advantageous. They will need players like Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood healthy come playoff time against bigger opponents like the Kings and Nuggets, who have dominated Anthony Davis in the paint.