A much-anticipated Game 1 showdown between the Wolves and Lakers concluded anticlimactically with Minnesota securing a convincing 117-95 victory.
Aside from Luka Dončić, who scored 37 points, no other Lakers found their offensive rhythm, particularly LeBron James and Austin Reaves. If L.A. wants to even this series, both players need bounce-back offensive games.
LeBron and Reaves finished with 19 and 16, respectively, which was an uncharacteristic performance for both players. Minnesota flexed its sixth-ranked defense, not allowing the Lakers to turn on the blender and get them into rotation.
Minnesota features one of the largest front lines in the league with Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert starting and Naz Reid coming off the bench. They aim to bait you into attacking the basket where they have help waiting, while being willing to live with any contested jump shots.
The Lakers fell for it early.
They hunted the big man on ball screens, falling into the trap of playing one-on-one basketball. LeBron and Reaves were just 5-16 shooting in the first half and two free throws combined.
Despite being out of control in the game, they showed some flashes of attacking potential. One way is in transition. The fast break discrepancy was 25-6 in favor of Minnesota, a disappointing stat for a team with LeBron and Dončić.
To get into transition, you must first get stops followed by a team-wide intention to push the pace. In the clip below, LeBron pushes the basketball off an Edwards miss at the rim to find Reaves open in the corner.
Minnesota is too big, long, and athletic at every position to consistently attack a set defense. Minnesota has enough athletes to at least contain the Lakers physically in the half-court, but transition is where they can leverage their strengths.
Another place to attack is the Wolves’ smaller guards, specifically Mike Conley, rather than only challenging their bigs. They attacked the guards sparingly in pick and roll in Game 1 despite it leading to solid offense.
Notice in the clip below how Reaves calls Jordan Goodwin to come up for the screen, as Conley is defending him. The Wolves prefer not to have Conley switch these actions, allowing Reaves to get downhill for a patented floater finish.
Another example is shown below, with LeBron receiving a screen from Gabe Vincent to engage Conley in the action. Conley hedges the screen, hoping to recover back to his man. This confusion allows James to cut backdoor and finish with a hook shot over Randle.
These are entry points for the Lakers offense where LA has a clear advantage and keeps the team’s offense organized. This allows LeBron, specifically, to get touches in the post. It draws help and facilitates ball movement, involving other guys as well. The Lakers finished the game with 15 assists and 13 turnovers, a disastrous ratio.
Finally, it’s still a make-or-miss league. With the Wolves being a brick-wall defense at the rim, they concede open jump shots. These are the looks LeBron and Reaves have to convert to keep the defense honest.
According to the NBA’s tracking data, in Game 1, the pair shot just 2-7 on pull-up 3-pointers. Minnesota hopes to live with these shots, but LA needs to punish them.
LeBron and Reaves faced a lot of drop coverage, a defensive strategy geared towards giving up this type of shot. An example is shown below, with Gobert dropping back to defend the double screen for Reaves.
The team doesn’t want to rely on a steady diet of these, but converting directly impacts how easily the Lakers can get others going.
The Lakers and Minnesota will meet again Tuesday for a series-defining Game 2, and getting LeBron and Reaves going offensively will be a significant factor in the Lakers chances of securing the victory.
