Wolves Eat Lakers In Game 1

It was a frustrating game 1, the vibes were different than the other slate of games that day. The Lakers started well, to say the least. Luka did his thing, dropping 16 1st quarter points on 50% shooting that kickstarted the Lakers' lead. Rui and DFS had a couple of early 3’s, and the Wolves’ offense was a bit sluggish as they ended up only scoring 21 points after 1.

The rest of the game was history. The moment Luka left the game, everything went downhill for the Lakers. Julius Randle in the low post cooked the Lakers as they wanted to help off Minnesota’s shooters such as Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, who cooked the Lakers in the 2nd period, extending the Wolves' lead to 13, and the 3-ball was flying everywhere. By the time Luka got back in, this was already over. The Wolves were too much for LA in all aspects of the game, and it was shocking to say the least. The lack of LA’s size was effective out there, as every rebound went Minnesota’s way.

Interesting game plan by coach JJ Redick, who wanted to go fast and small to try to exploit the Wolves’ D, where he only played Jaxon Hayes 8 minutes. Minnesota had locks all over Austin Reaves. It seemed that he wanted to pass the ball whenever McDaniels switched onto Austin. Credit to Austin, there’s a massive size difference there, and McDaniels is a superior defender, but Austin wasn't aggressive enough. Reaves only dropped 16 points, where 14 came in the 3rd quarter.

The Lakers made a 10-0 run late in the 3rd to get the game back to 13, but when Edwards returned to the game after cramping up, he made the Lakers pay by knocking down 3 after 3 and ultimately putting the game in the coffin.

To conclude: What do the Lakers need to do in Game 2? Many things. Get physical (The Lakers didn’t commit a foul until mid-2nd quarter), play Jaxon Hayes more, and figure out the help defense issue. There’s no reason to help LeBron on the post guarding Julius Randle, leaving shooters wide open. Credit to the Lakers, Minnesota had a magnet ball game as they knocked down 21 3-pointers, which was a record for them in a playoff game. Will they shoot like that again? I'd assume not, but can they get close?

Absolutely. Aside from Gobert, every player on the court for the Wolves can shoot. The Lakers have a lot of experience on their coaching staff, and have had a great year. The Lakers should still be the favorites to win this series, but a lot is going to have to change from all aspects of the game if LA wants to flip the switch.