After defeating the Wolves in the West Finals last year, Luka Dončić will try to do the same thing with the Lakers in the 1st round this year.
Given the Lakers’ lineage, Los Angeles and Minneapolis will always be linked from a basketball standpoint.
That’s where the comparison ends.
The Timberwolves have never matched the L.A. Lakers, or the Minneapolis version either. Still, this series will have some juice if only because Anthony Edwards will stake a claim for being the best player, and the teams split 2-2 on the season. That’s a tall order for Ant given he’s sharing the floor with Luka Dončić and LeBron James.
Series schedule
Here’s how to watch the Lakers vs. Timberwolves series:
All times Eastern Standard Time
- Game 1: Timberwolves vs. Lakers, TBA
- Game 2: Timberwolves vs. Lakers, TBA
- Game 3: Lakers vs. Timberwolves, TBA
- Game 4: Lakers vs. Timberwolves, TBA
- Game 5: Timberwolves vs. Lakers, TBA*
- Game 6: Lakers vs. Timberwolves, TBA*
- Game 7: Timberwolves vs. Lakers, TBA*
* = If necessary
Top storyline
Luka Dončić’s playoff debut in LA. But of course. The rationale for trading Anthony Davis for Luka was mainly for the future, but the Lakers are pleasantly surprised that the future is now. Luka has been solid for the most part since arriving. He has a great chance to endear himself to Lakers fans, as if they’re not already warmed up to him.
And he can haunt the Wolves for the second straight spring. Who could forget how he chopped up the Wolves in the Western Conference Finals, and especially the 3-point dagger he dropped on Gobert — with a bit of trash talk tossed in? Minnesota might still be spooked by that.
Keep your eyes on
Julius Randle. Speaking of new playoff debuts, Randle has more on the line than Luka. His landing in Minnesota hasn’t been as smooth, although he has played better lately since arriving from the Knicks in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade last summer.
Randle had a habit of disappearing in playoffs for the Knicks, which didn’t buy him much sympathy, so he has a reputation to shed. His playoff career shooting percentage is 34% overall and 28% from deep.
1 more thing to watch for each team
For Lakers. Can this team overcome the size issue? For as long as the Lakers are in the playoffs, their big man situation will be a factor. How large of a factor depends on matchups and whether L.A. can use a committee to fill the void left by Anthony Davis.
Jaxson Hayes will be on the front line, and from there it’s all hands on deck trying to wrestle rebounds from Gobert and Randle. LeBron and Rui Hachimura will need to play big, and L.A. could use Luka hitting his seasonal average in rebounds (seven-plus). The Lakers’ defensive strategy this season of throwing doubles at opposing centers will not be in play this series because, in the case of Gobert, that’s not necessary.
For Timberwolves. Their defense (109 per game, fourth lowest in the league) once again is among the best in the league, and they’ll need it against three creative scorers — Luka, LeBron and Austin Reaves. How well the Wolves do in this series will come down to that (along with Edwards, obviously).
Who does Jaden McDaniels guard? The Wolves have options with him because he’s so versatile. They can give him the Luka assignment, or LeBron, or switch him up depending on how the game goes. He’s a ball hawk and fearless and could be a matchup problem for LA.
1 key number to know
47.1% — Since Luka Dončić’s debut, the Lakers have taken 47.1% of their shots from 3-point range. That rate ranked third in the league over the last nine weeks of the season and was up from 39.6% (22nd) prior.
Dončić’s remarkable talent obviously raises the Lakers’ ceiling offensively, in part because he’s raised the potential value of their shots. He led the team with 102 3-pointers over those last nine weeks, while also assisting on another 92. The Lakers outscored their opponents by 4.9 points per game from beyond the arc in the 28 games he played in and were outscored by 3.1 per game from 3-point range otherwise.
The Wolves allowed the sixth fewest 3-pointers per 100 possessions this season, one of three teams that ranked in the top 10 in both opponent 3-point percentage (35.3%, sixth) and the (lowest) percentage of their opponents’ shots that came from 3-point range (40.9%, seventh). They outscored the Lakers (36-33) from beyond the arc in the one head-to-head meeting that Dončić’s played in, though L.A. took half of its shots (41/82) from 3-point range and won the game by nine.
— John Schuhmann
The pick
Lakers in six. This team has a glow here in coach JJ Redick’s first season and hit another gear once Luka arrived. Suddenly, even the role players — Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Dorian Finney-Smith, etc. — are upticking. Of course, success in the postseason will depend on stars, and the Lakers have more than Minnesota. LeBron, above all, still seems springy here in April. Edwards will need to be epic to make this series close.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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