The Los Angeles Lakers don’t have much of an excuse for how the Minnesota Timberwolves bullied them in Game 1 of their first-round series Saturday night.
But despite that, media members and fans across the country sought answers following the team’s 22-point loss at Crypto.com Arena in L.A. on the opening day of the NBA playoffs. And, as he often does, it was superstar LeBron James who tried to make sense of and explain the Lakers’ failures during the postgame.
In doing so, he also sent a clear, albeit somewhat subdued, message to the Timberwolves ahead of Game 2 — essentially that the Lakers will be ready, and Minnesota shouldn’t expect victory to come so easily next time around.
“Maybe it took us one playoff game to now get a feel for it,” James said. “We know the type of intensity, the type of physicality that’s gonna be brought to the game, but that’s the way they play. So we should be more than prepared for that on Tuesday night.”
Luka Doncic Echoed LeBron James’ Comments Following Lakers’ Loss to Timberwolves
James wasn’t alone in his assessment that the Wolves were more physical than the Lakers in the opening game of the series. His co-star Luka Doncic echoed James’ message during his own postgame press conference.
“I think in the first quarter we played the way we played,” Doncic said. “We were playing physical, and then we just kind of let go of the rope. So we have to play more physical. It’s 48 minutes and every possession matters.”
Lakers head coach J.J. Redick said something similar to media members following the defeat.
“I’m not sure physically we were ready,” Redick said. “And really when [the Wolves] started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, we just didn’t respond to meet that.”
Lakers Must Improve 3-Point Defense in Future Games Against Timberwolves
One could argue that Los Angeles also wasn’t ready from a strategic standpoint, as Minnesota took advantage of a defensive style Redick has relied upon for months.
The Lakers have focused on jamming up the paint, in part due to their lack of size at the center position, while daring teams to shoot a large number of uncontested — or mildly contested — 3-point shots. Los Angeles still focuses on defending the best 3-point shooters on opposing rosters, but a high volume of attempts with relatively soft resistance are there for everyone else.
The Timberwolves seized on that Saturday, getting up 42 shots from behind the arc and hitting 50% of them. Those 21 made 3-pointers accounted for 63 of Minnesota’s 117 points, well over half the final total on the night.
It is highly unlikely that the Wolves will shoot that well from deep again at any point in the series, even if they get the same caliber of looks in another game or two as those they saw in Game 1. Even still, Redick will need to consider alternative defensive solutions if Minnesota continues to hit from deep, lest the Lakers find themselves shot out of the playoffs in short order.
