The Lakeshow Review

In typical fashion, this season’s Western Conference playoff race came down to the final day of regular season play. After clinching the 3 seed on Friday against Houston, the Lakers rested their starters in the final game of the season against the Portland Trailblazers. Predictably, the team dropped the contest, by a final score of 109-81. Rookie Dalton Knecht was the lone bright spot, scoring 27 points, while grabbing 8 boards. Prodigal Son Bronny James and retread journeyman Alex Len each had 4 points. Portland was led by a balanced attack, which saw all five starters net double figures in scoring, led by guard Delano Banton’s 23 points. The contest was of little consequence however, as LA did not dress any starters or key rotational players, opting instead to play their rookies and end-of-the-bench guys. It was a well earned day of rest for LA’s top players, as they look to round one of the playoffs.

In other news, the Clippers took down the Warriors in overtime, which effectively sends the Warriors to the play-in and helps the Clippers secure the 5 seed, setting up a first round matchup with Denver (4 seed). The Minnesota Timberwolves secured the 6 seed after besting the Utah Jazz, which means they’ll face the Lakers (3 seed) in round one. Top seeds Oklahoma City and Houston will await the results of the play-in before they know their opponents. It should be an interesting next couple of days.

As far as the Lakers, they’re in a good spot. They will have home court advantage in the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 Disney Bubble. Their next opponent however, is no slouch. The Timberwolves are tough. They have an all-around superstar in Anthony Edwards, who finished in the top 5 in league scoring. Their top 8 guys include Julius Randle, Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniel, Rudy Gobert, Donte DiVicenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley. Very solid group; nice mix of veterans and young legs. I still question the on-court fit with Julis Randle, but alas, this is a very good team. Thankfully for the Lakers, they have a blueprint for success against Minnesota. It was provided by Luka Dončić during last season’s NBA Playoffs, when the 5th-seeded Mavericks bounced the 3rd-seeded Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals. During that series, Minnesota Head Coach Chris Finch elected to play Rudy Gobert in mostly drop coverage, and occasionally up-to-touch, during pick and rolls. They used Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaden McDaniels on traps, and had Karl Anthony Towns (who is no longer with the team) hedge on ball screens to avoid switching. Dončić was masterful in utilizing the pocket of spaces provided by the drop and up-to-touch coverages to put his own defender in jail and rise up for high percentage midrange looks. Dallas also utilized a variety of stagger/double ball screens in order to force Gobert into drop, and add a wrinkle of complexity on switches. Throughout that series, Luka was effective at kicking it out to open shooters in the corners when help defenders collapsed the paint.

This series, Lakers center Jaxson Hayes will be critical. His ability to set good picks and be a dynamic pick and roll big for Luka and LeBron will be key. Another crucial component is the play of Austin Reaves. If he can provide yet another effective pick and roll ball handler, that will give the offense yet another dimension, as it will allow both Luka and LeBron to play off-ball. Minnesota has a bevy of athletic defenders on the wing, so dissecting their perimeter defense will certainly be a challenge. Rui Hachimura is an another important component to the team’s offense, as his knack for filling the lanes in transition and ability to hit open jumpers is paramount. His output will be needed in order to counter that of Minnesota star sixth man Naz Reid, who always seems to save his best for the Lakers. The team’s other perimeter players such as Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith should also be counted on to hit open shots and defend at a high level. Team-wise, the Lakers will need to focus on attacking from their 5-out sets, and bringing Gobert out of the paint as much as possible. 

Defensively, the main goal is containing Anthony Edwards, whose all-world athleticism can give any defense the yips. I expect the Lakers to utilize some combination of Vanderbilt and Finney-Smith for guarding Edwards. As I also expect Minnesota to target switches in order to get Edwards to attack someone like Luka from a triple threat position out in space. The Lakers’ ability to switch and not give up easy offense will be key. Minnesota shooters like DiVicenzo, Reid and Conley are all formidable, and it will be important for the Lakers to stay home on shooters without allowing ball handlers like Edwards to collapse the defense. 

This should be a good series, as both teams have their strengths that they bring to the table. Both teams have also been to playoffs and certainly don’t lack experience. I think it will come down to the Lakers ability to hit open shots and put Minnesota’s bigs in compromising positions on ball screens. The Lakers will need balanced output from their main stars, and also find a way to not be overwhelmed by Minnesota’s athleticism. I expect this to be a hard fought series, and I think the Lakers can prevail. Until then, Go Lakers.