Austin Reaves was far from the only player on the Los Angeles Lakers with a less than stellar performance in Game 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team as a whole just didn’t step up and were dominated on both ends of the court in a disappointing playoff opener in front of their home crowd.
The Lakers actually led by seven after the first quarter, but found themselves down double-digits by halftime due in large part to the Timberwolves’ hot shooting from 3-point range. That continued to start the second half and Reaves felt the Lakers allowed far too many wide open looks from deep, even if that was part of the game plan.
“To start that third quarter, I think they made three or four in a row, basically all uncontested,” Reaves said. “Regardless of what the game plan is, you don’t want to give up those. We play in the NBA and regardless of what percentage you shoot, if you have a practice shot, you have an opportunity to make it. So like I said, we’ll watch the film and get better.”
Whether it was defensive breakdowns or game planning, Reaves knows the Lakers didn’t do what they needed to. But overall, he feels the Timberwolves just played better and harder than the Lakers.
“They just played a lot better than us. A lot harder than us,” Reaves added. “They did all the things that we wanted to do. Give up offensive rebounds for spray out threes, and like I said, a lot of them were uncontested or a defensive breakdown in our scheme and we give up shots that we don’t want to give up. When you compound bad with bad, it’s gonna get bad.
“I thought we competed at the end of that third quarter to make a little run and then even at the start of the fourth quarter. They just made a couple tough midrange shots, I think Ant made one, Julius made one to kind of fizzle out those runs. But yeah, we’ll be better.”
The Lakers have to be better in order to ensure they don’t go to Minnesota down 2-0 in the series. And in order to do so, Reaves feels the Lakers have to do a better job of matching the physicality the Timberwolves bring.
“I think they just physically beat us from the get-go,” Reaves said. “Neither team has played I think in a week or so but they came out with a little more aggression and physicality to their game that helped them win tonight. I think that’s really it.”
Effort, energy and physicality are all things the Lakers can control. There are other important factors that will play a role in this series, but if the Lakers can’t match the Timberwolves in this area, they stand no chance of getting out of the first round.
While there is obviously some disappointment following a Game 1 loss on their home court, this is still a series and the Lakers must be beaten three more times. Austin Reaves noted that was the mood for the Lakers and stressed the importance of remembering that it is still just one game.
“I think that kind of was the mood. You don’t win or lose (a series) in one game,” Reaves said. “We have an opportunity on Tuesday to even up the series on our home court and go compete for two games on their home court. You never lose after the first game, second game, third game, to be honest. You gotta get beat four times or you gotta win four times. That’s the outlook. We know we didn’t play very well. If we play to our standards then we’ll get better.”
