Basketball is a game of matchups, they say, and on separate nights in a span of barely 24 hours, the Minnesota Timberwolves will take part in two of the NBA's most compelling. When the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers play at Target Center Friday, it will be Wally Szczerbiak vs. Kobe Bryant. On Saturday, at Washington's MCI Center, it will be Kevin Garnett vs. Michael Jordan.

The first one pits the league's most talented and accomplished young shooting guard against a newcomer at the position who is enjoying a breakthrough season. The second features the game's most revered superstar, on the still-dangerous backside of a legendary career, against a new-millennium player with a commensurate drive and love for the game.