The Los Angeles Lakers struck gold with Luka Doncic. Since they acquired him in February, the five-time All-Star has averaged 28.2 points on 43.8 percent shooting (37.9 percent 3 PT) with 8.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists. He and LeBron James will lead them against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
The Timberwolves (49-33) finished just one game behind the Lakers (50-32) in the regular season, but they were three spots below them due to the tight standings in the West. The Lakers, Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Clippers all had the same record.
Minnesota head coach Chris Finch got honest about facing Doncic on Tuesday, via Zone Coverage’s Andrew Dukowitz.
There’s certain things that we learned from being a series with him last year that we have to put into action this year,” he said. “Our discipline around him and the execution of those things has to be better.”
Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Timberwolves four games to one in the Western Conference Finals last season. The five-time first-team All-NBA honoree averaged 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.2 steals in the series.
The Lakers acquired Doncic from the Mavericks for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick. The Timberwolves also have a new-look squad, as they dealt Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in the offseason.
Minnesota is still led by superstar guard Anthony Edwards, who averaged 27.6 points on 44.7 percent shooting (39.5 percent 3 PT) with 5.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists this season. The 23-year-old was fourth in the league in scoring.
