LeBron James and Luka Doncic, healthy. Home court advantage. Laker Nation’s support. With so many factors in their favor, the majority of the basketball pundits picked the Lakers to win tonight’s playoff opener against the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards and Co., however, had other plans. Showing why they were last year’s Western Conference finalists, the Minnesota team decimated the Lakers and blew them out to gain a massive edge in the series. And the embarrassing loss led to a brutal realization for LeBron and Austin Reaves.
The Wolves didn’t just show up with intensity—they imposed it, and it showed up all over the stat sheet. They out-muscled the Lakers in rebounds, beat them to 50-50 balls, dished out more assists, swiped more steals, and flat-out made L.A. look a step slow. The Wolves forced more turnovers and doubled the Lakers up in points off those mistakes. Add in the advantage in fastbreak points, paint scoring, and second-chance buckets?
Yeah, Minnesota didn’t just win—they dominated the effort game. And here’s the thing: expecting a 40-year-old LeBron to set the tone physically every night? That’s asking for a miracle. But on the other side, Ant’s just 23. He’s in his prime. So is Julius Randle. Gobert might not be flashy, but he’s built for the grind.
Crediting the Wolves for the level of physicality they brought to the game, LBJ said, “That’s what they bring to the table. Maybe it took us one playoff game to know what type of intensity they bring.” Even AR shared a similar sentiment, “I think that they just physically beat us from the get-go… They came out with a little more aggression and physicality to their game that helped them win tonight.”
Well, the Lakers initially had an edge as they finished the first quarter with a seven-point lead. Then, Ant-Man and Co. understood the urgency and picked their intensity up a notch, turning the game around. They outscored the home team 38-20 in the second quarter, and the LA team could never recover. Sure enough, that could be a major problem for them for the remainder of the series, as the Wolves will come out with the same intensity every single night.
Even Luka, who dropped a game-high 37 points, was disappointed in his team’s performance. He said the Lakers “let go of the rope” after a hot start, which could prove disastrous in the playoffs. “We have to be more physical.” He added. Now that the new problem has been identified, LeBron is more hopeful about the next time they face the Wolves, “We should be more than prepared for that on Tuesday.”
Of course, Game 2 will also be played in the Crypto.com Arena, and the Lakers will have to come out with a sense of desperation to tie the series and keep their title dreams alive. While the Big Three gave their verdict on tonight’s performance, JJ Redick tried his best to protect his squad.
