The Los Angeles Lakers responded exactly as they needed to in Game 2 to even up their first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But now, the task gets even tougher as they head on the road and look to regain home-court advantage.
Luka Doncic has already spoken about how important it is for the Lakers to stick together in what will be a raucous and hostile environment in Minnesota, and that the onus is on himself and LeBron James to make sure that happens.
In Game 2, the Lakers ratcheted up their defensive intensity and overall physicality. That will obviously need to carry over to Minnesota as the Timberwolves, led by Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, will continue to bang all series long. But now, the Lakers must figure out a way to unlock their offense aside from Doncic.
Much of their offensive strategy so far has been to hunt mismatches, in particular against Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley. But that has often led to a lot of stagnation and no Laker other than Luka has been able to find their rhythm just yet. LeBron should be fine, but the Timberwolves are one of the only teams who have enough capable defenders to make life tough on Austin Reaves, so JJ Redick must figure out a way to get him going as well.
Redick also tightened up the rotation in Game 2 with basically only Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent seeing significant minutes off the bench. This makes their contributions that much more important to relieve the burden on Doncic, James and Reaves, who are all playing around 40 minutes a night.
Defensively, it goes without saying that the Lakers must maintain that energy and physicality that they showed in Game 2. They have actually done a good job at containing Edwards so far as he is shooting just 40.9% in the series, but it can’t come at the expense of wide open shots for the likes of Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid.
If the Lakers can continue to make life tough on Edwards while challenging the Timberwolves shooters, they can live with Randle on the inside. Staying physical and playing hard for 48 minutes is a must and if they can unlock just a slightly better offense, the Lakers can be successful on the road and regain control of the series.
Los Angeles Lakers (1-1) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-1)
Friday, April 25, 6:30 p.m. PT
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Lakers Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: Rui Hachimura
PF: LeBron James
C: Jaxson Hayes
Key Reserves: Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jordan Goodwin
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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