The Lakeshow Review

At this juncture, it might be fair to surmise that this team has an identity crisis. After an inspiring effort in game two, where despite a poor shooting night the Lakers managed to tie the series, they came out flat during their first road contest against Minnesota. After a puzzlingly mediocre display during game three of the series, the team can’t seem to shake off its Jekyll/Hyde complex. Plagued by turnovers, lazy defense, and simply just an all-around display of poor execution, the Lakers fell to the Timberwolves 116-104, to fall behind two games to one in the best-of-seven Western conference matchup.

As predicted, playing in front of their home crowd did in fact give Minnesota a jolt. Anthony Edwards, predictably, had his best game of the series, tallying 29 points to go with 8 boards and 8 assists, 2 steals and a block. Swingman Jaden McDaniels also erupted for 30 points (after a poor game two, following a 25-point outing in game one), while Julius Randle continued his strong play scoring 22 points. Minnesota seemed determined to break LA’s point of attack defense via Anthony Edwards’ lightning quick first step. This resulted in multiple drives to the basket where the defense collapsed and resulted in either an easy score or a kickout to an open shooter. The Timberwolves seem to have found a consistent formula by hunting for switches to make sure Edwards is blowing past his man and living in the paint. The Timberwolves played their best game of the series, where LA had no answers for them, as even when they pulled even or took a small lead, they never seemed to be in control of this game.

Offensively, the Lakers enjoyed their best shotmaking game of the season. They made 17 three pointers, at a 42.5% clip. Execution-wise they looked capable of staying afloat during the game’s opening half. They even ran some floppy action early, in order to get Austin Reaves open looks from range, which he converted (it was encouraging to see Austin find his three ball). However, as the game progressed the Lakers seemed increasingly unable to get out of their own way. Lazy turnovers and bad defensive mistakes plagued them throughout the entire contest. So much so that absent these, it’s safe to say they very well could have won this game.

Historically, over the course of a playoff series, trends begin to emerge. One consistent trend for this Lakers team has been their lack of effort and lack of focus, and they were on full display during this game. LA lost the turnover battle 19-11, and got decimated on points in transition (21-11) and points-off-of-turnovers (28-13). Minnesota’s athleticism, speed and length have been firmly established after last night’s game three. Their speed in particular proved tough for LA’s defensive rotations to keep up with, as breakdowns often lead to scrambling rotations that led to open threes. Edwards getting to the paint at will has left the team with no answers. The Lakers have also yet to adjust to Minnesota’s switching defense, as few could have anticipated their sudden willingness to switch everything. On a bright note, LeBron James figured some things out, having his series breakout performance with 38 points on 21 shots. However, with a struggling and ailing Luka Dončić (17 points on 16 shots) battling through stomach issues, the Lakers weren’t able to stay competitive in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, as their lack of a closer was apparent, sans an effective Luka. The team’s turnovers also proved to be costly, as they occured virtually at the most inopportune of times.

In my opinion, a drastic change in personnel is needed. Both in the starting five and the bench. As it stands, the starting unit is too top heavy, and the bench is too thread bare. When Minnesota is trotting out legitimate firepower in the likes of Naz Reid and Donte DiVicenzo, the Lakers can’t counter with a Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt combo and expect to stay competitive. The Lakers are getting close to nothing in terms of production from their bench, while Minnesota is enjoying a consistent boost from game to game. This has been a consistent issue all series, but in my opinion, it really rose to the forefront during last game.

I propose bringing Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura off the bench, then plugging both Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith in with the starters. Basically, we are trading offense for defense. And giving the bench a sorely needed scoring punch. As it stands, Anthony Edwards is starting to assert his dominance offensively, and the Lakers seem to have no answers for it. At least not on their starting unit. Sticking Austin Reaves or Rui on Edwards simply isn’t going to cut it. He is either too big or too agile for both of them. Having Vincent and Finney-Smith on the starting unit gives the Lakers the chance to establish the offensive two-man game of Luka Dončić and LeBron James. It gives LA room to run more Horns sets, with Lebron screening for Luka on the wing (or vice-versa), and have Gabe and Finney-Smith spaced out on opposite corners, with Jaxson Hayes on one of the elbows. The Lakers need to find a consistent stream if early offensne so that they don’t fall behind in these games. As it stands, the offense is very convoluted with Luka, LeBron and Austin. Frankly, Minnesota’s defensive length has really been bothering Austin. On the other hand, defensively, Finney-Smith can check Anthony Edwards. And Jarred Vanderbilt can spell Dorian when he checks into the game. This would give the team more balance. At this moment, this roster is very unbalanced. The Dončić trade, despite netting a true superstar, left many holes on the roster. In particular, the two-way presence of Anthony Davis and the 3&D punch provided by Max Christie. Concessions ought to be made in order to balance out the starting unit, and legitimize the bench. I don’t know if this would be on Head Coach JJ Redick’s plans, but I am personally a big proponent of this.

Regardless, I believe this team needs some type of shake-up. Minnesota seems to have figured them out, and nothing the Lakers are throwing at them is coming at any surprise. The Lakers need to throw in some wrinkles for Minnesota to adjust to, because if they don’t, I don’t think the Lakers can pull off this series. The Timberwolves are playing their game and dictating the terms. They have all the momentum, and the Lakers need to find a way to regain some of it, if not all. Championship teams are fearless when it comes to making adjustments. Are these Lakers championship-caliber? I guess game four will bring us closer to being able to answer that question. In the meantime, Go Lakers.