The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the best teams in the NBA after the trade deadline, going on a run to secure the third seed in the Western Conference and setting up a first-round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Lakers are considered the favorites to advance to the next round, though it would be foolish to overlook a Timberwolves team that is coming off a Western Conference Finals the previous year. Minnesota has all the ingredients to upset Los Angeles, though the latter has the benefit of home-court advantage and star power on their side.
Aside from the stars, the Lakers also boast a strong stable of role players including Rui Hachimura. He missed time in March due to a knee injury, but has been rounding into form and looks ready to play a critical role in the postseason.
Los Angeles’ goal was to avoid participating in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament, and Hachimura admitted he and the team are relived to not have to earn their spot in the playoffs for the first time since he joined the team.
“Especially with our conference, the Western Conference, it’s so tight, everybody is the same wins and losses,” Hachimura said after Friday’s win over the Houston Rockets. “So we have to focus on us, each game is really important for us. We’ve lost a crazy couple games and we stressed out about that even though we focused on every game and won all of those important games, especially last week, and that’s how we got to this point. So yeah, we got to rest this week and prepare for the first round. We got home-court advantage too so we’re gonna be here for like two weeks. I’m happy about it and ready for it.”
It took until the final week of the regular season for the Lakers to clinch a spot in the playoffs, but the hard work was worth it as Hachimura and company now have a full week to rest and recover. As the forward also noted, they’ll be hosting the Timberwolves which should help their chances of advancing.
Los Angeles has had to claw their way into the postseason before, so this upcoming week is a nice reprieve until the real games begin.
JJ Redick says Lakers will rely on Luka Doncic for playoff series against Mavericks
While the Timberwolves are a daunting foe on paper, the Lakers have an edge as Luka Doncic just saw them in the playoffs. Head coach JJ Redick acknowledged that he and the coaching staff will rely on Doncic during their preparation for the Timberwolves.
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