The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a wild victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, securing the No. 7 seed for the playoffs. The win required a major comeback in the fourth quarter — the Lakers held the Timberwolves to just 12 points and no field goals in the final six minutes and an extra overtime period was still needed to secure the win.
It was a miraculous turn of events, but one that came with starting point guard D’Angelo Russell on the bench. Russell, playing the team that traded him two months ago, had just 2 points on 1-for-9 shooting in 24 minutes, his lowest minutes in a full game as a Laker.
Head coach Darvin Ham preferred Dennis Schroder late in the game over Russell. The decision paid off as Russell couldn’t find any rhythm, but Ham believes Russell will be fine with the first round coming up.
“You know, you’re gonna have rough nights out here. I have all of the confidence in the world in DLo,” Ham said. “We’re gonna need him during this run that we plan to make starting with Game 1 at Memphis. He’s just got to be able to snap back and bounce back. It’s a long season. Some nights it’s not gonna be your night.
“Again, that’s why you try to fortify your roster with multiple players who are capable once you call their number, they’re not just able to go out there and gobble up minutes but give minutes and play at a high level. That just happened to be Dennis tonight but make no mistake about it, we brought DLo here to come out here and be DLo and to make plays. So we’ll sit down and watch film as a group and definitely communicate and just let him know that we’re gonna need him. This may be a one off no doubt about it, but he’s gonna be in the thick of things at the forefront for us having success in the postseason.”
Russell had important stretches for the Lakers as the season wound down. He’s scored in double digits in every game, except when he suffered an injury on Feb. 23. In March, Russell shot 40% from three and 48.5% from the field while averaging 20 points per game.
Russell’s off night on Tuesday didn’t come around and bite the Lakers, but ensuring that he’s in a rhythm will be crucial for the rest of the playoffs. His playmaking and scoring take the load off of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The point guard’s also been dealing with a right foot issue, something that could have hindered his performance. However, with four days in between games, Russell has the chance to manage it as much as possible.
Anthony Davis says focus against Timberwolves was winning to get extra rest
It’s been a hectic last couple of weeks for the Lakers with seven games in 12 days to end the regular season. A win against the Timberwolves on Tuesday gives the Lakers four days off until playing the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.
That break is crucial for L.A. and something Davis said was in the back on their minds during the game.
“That was our main focus. Even when we were down I think 15 or 17 or something like that. We just kept saying we got to get aggressive, we can’t play I thought it was Thursday, or Friday, or whatever day it is we didn’t want to play whatever day it was. We wanted to get this rest. Let our bodies heal and recover.”
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