It’s win-or-go-home for the Los Angeles Lakers as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their first round playoff series. The Lakers were unable to hold on to their fourth quarter lead in the prior game and now find themselves on the brink of elimination.
The second half of Game 4 saw head coach JJ Redick play five Lakers all 24 minutes as Dorian Finney-Smith replaced Jaxson Hayes alongside the other four starters in LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. As such, it isn’t much of a surprise that Redick is going that route to start Game 5 as that is clearly the group he trusts most.
Additionally, Maxi Kleber is available for the first time since joining the Lakers, although it remains to be seen if he will get minutes after missing the last three months.
The issue with that smaller lineup for the Lakers has been their rebounding as the big, physical Timberwolves have made them pay by crashing the offensive glass and creating more opportunities. The Lakers must figure out a way to keep Minnesota off the glass and take better care of the ball as those extra chances have come back to haunt them.
L.A. must also do a much better job of closing out quarters. While their fourth quarter struggles in this series have been most prevalent, being outscored by 36 in the final period so far, Game 4 saw them build up leads in other quarters, before allowing the Timberwolves to go on a late run and keep things close. It is also imperative that the Lakers have the best player on the court as Timberwolves star Anthony Edward has more or less outplayed both Doncic and James throughout much of this series.
Taking things one game at a time and treating this Game 5 like a Game 7 has been a theme throughout the Lakers locker room since the Game 4 loss and they will need to make good on that mindset now. They have remained confident and said all the right things, but now is the time to put it into practice.
Energy, physicality and execution are the name of the game and if the Lakers can’t pull through on those fronts, they will see their season come to an end far earlier than they ever hoped.
Minnesota Timberwolves (3-1) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (1-3)
Wednesday, April 30, 7:00 p.m. PT
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
TV: TNT/TruTV/MAX, Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Lakers Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: Dorian Finney-Smith
PF: Rui Hachimura
C: LeBron James
Key Reserves: Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jordan Goodwin, Maxi Kleber
Timberwolves Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Mike Conley
SG: Anthony Edwards
SF: Jaden McDaniels
PF: Julius Randle
C: Rudy Gobert
Key Reserves: Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker
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