The Lakeshow Review

The Los Angeles Lakers 2025 campaign came to an unceremonious end last Wednesday at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, following a 103-96 defeat in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarter-Finals. Led by Julius Randle’s 23 points, 4 boards and 5 assists, as well as Rudy Gobert’s Wilt Chamberlain-esque stat-line of 27 points and 24 boards, the gritty Timberwolves made short work of the Lakers’ undersized and undermanned attack.

Ever since the Luka Dončić trade, the Lakers have opted to play a smaller lineup in order to emphasize their speed, shooting and trio of playmakers in Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves. However, Minnesota wisely decided to counter with the exact opposite. They utilized their overwhelming size and physicality to punish the smaller and finesse Lakers. In a surprising turn of events, Lakers Head Coach JJ Redick made the decision to remove Jaxson Hayes from the starting unit, instead playing a 5 man group consisting purely of guards and wings (Luka, Finney-Smith, LeBron, Reaves and Rui Hachimura) in hopes of swarming the Timberwolves with their speed and playmaking. This strategy proved fatal. As LA was crushed in the rebounding battle 54-37, the largest margin of any game this series. The Lakers also surrendered 56 points in the paint, while not having (or refusing to provide) an answer for Rudy Gobert’s herculean performance.

Now, LA is out of the playoffs, with their sights towards the off-season. Many questions linger as uncertainty seems to be the underlying theme of their summer. However, one thing is for sure; this team simply did not have it. Mentally and physically, they were unprepared to undertake the rigours and ups and downs of a long playoff run. Now, they look toward the next year, and will try to answer the conundrum of trying to put together a championship roster around their newly minted star Luka Dončić and their other young pieces. It was a disappointing end, but in my eyes, a predictable one, as this team felt incomplete since the trade deadline, lacking a couple of essential pieces (a dynamic big and a couple of 3&D wings) necessary to not just compliment their star players but also win an NBA championship. Time will tell if the organization will use this season as something to build upon, or if they will continue treading the same middling trajectory that they’ve been on for the past 5 years. Time will tell.

Wednesday night’s game was uneventful, to to say the least. One would think that Coach JJ Redick’s tinkering of the starting lineup would have given the team a spark of energy or some newfound excitement. As it turns out, it accomplished the exact opposite. From the rip, the team looked sluggish, disoriented and submissively awaiting their impending doom. They were guests at their own funeral. The team pedantically raced out to to a 31-19 first quarter deficit. You knew right there it was going to be a long night. The Lakers’ defensive rotations, shot selection and overall spark (or lack thereof) did not speak to a team desperately trying to find a second wind and keep their season alive. Instead they reeked of a group that resigned itself to the inevitable fate of being unable to stay afloat and in the race. Defensively, even when LA got stops, Minnesota seemed primed to gobble up the offensive rebound and manufacture second, sometimes third possessions. The type that can break a team’s back. Knowing that even when they pull out a defensive stop, the other team will still end up with the ball. Midway through the second quarter, Gobert was already sporting double figures in scoring (11 points), mostly off of easy dunks and putbacks. LA had nobody to battle with Rudy down low, and JJ Redick’s abrupt decision to forego giving any minutes to Jaxson Hayes certainly seemed more baffling by the minute. I’m not quite sure what the goal was. But it simply came off as an exercise in sadism and stubbornness, almost like the coach was willing to go down his way, even if it meant watching the team be decimated due to a bad tactical decision. It certainly left a bad taste. And I’m not sure how this bodes for Redick’s prospects as an aspiring championship coach. Which is what he was hired to be.

Offensively, the Lakers sleepwalked their way to a beatdown. Relying heavily on iso ball, as opposed to preaching off-ball movement. Some of their more inspiring moments actually did come off of backdoor cuts and off-ball motion. However, those were few and far between. They were led once again by Luka Dončić whose 28 points and 9 assists paced both teams. He also finished with 7 rebounds. He was the lone bright spot. LeBron slugged his way to a paltry 22 points on 21 shots. Austin Reaves continued his abysmal play with 12 points on 14 shots. Rui Hachimura contributed 23 points. The team, however, played with a lack of purpose or identity. They seemed incapable, and at times, even unwilling to build any sort of sustained run in order to wrestle the momentum to their side. Minnesota’s lead fluctuated all game. But they never appeared to lose their grip on the contest. Defensively, they were sharp, and offensively, they were anchored Gobert’s inside presence as LA’s surprising lack of backside help left Rudy primed to feast on an all-you-can-dunk buffet at his disposal for the entire duration of the contest.

This game did not feel as one the Lakers had any plans of winning. They left the Crypto Arena floor with nothing to show for, with the season on the line, they put forth perhaps their least inspiring performance of the year. LA knew they were not the better team and played like it.

As the 2024-25 season has come and gone for the Purple and Gold, and the summer’s off-season now looms on the horizon, a couple of questions emerge. Who will be back next year? What will this roster look like? Will this team find a way to come back better, stronger and hungrier? Will this type of humbling experience bring this group closer together? General Manager Rob Pelinka will certainly have no shortage of work on his plate. He’ll be tasked with the quandary of assessing who to bring back, who to let go and who to bring in. It will certainly be a challenge and I’m sure there will be no lack of drama and intrigue. But the goal will be to field a better team next season, one equipped to compete for a championship and capable of going toe to toe with the NBA’s elite. Easier said than done. In my personal estimation, this team needs, desperately, to somehow find a way to get younger. They have an all-world cornerstone in Luka Dončić, as well as some robust young pieces in Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht. The organization has to map out a plan to acquire a dynamic screen and roll center, as well as young players who can offer some combination of shooting, scoring or defending. These will be the keys to elevating this roster into championship contention. It’ll be exciting to see how the off-season unravels, and what kind of surprises it yields. Hopefully they’re of the pleasant variety. Until then, Go Lakers.