After an action-packed end to the NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers now know they will be facing the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round of the playoffs.
JJ Redick’s team finished with the third seed in a loaded Western Conference. They will now be heading into the first playoffs of the Luka Doncic era. Los Angeles now has a week to rest, recover and prepare for the Timberwolves.
According to Redick, the Lakers coaching staff are going to drip-feed their preparations to the players over the coming week.
“We will spend some time, Tuesday, Wednesday, introducing a little bit of playoff stuff,” Redick said. “It’s not necessarily going to be everything at once this week. We will have to slow-drip. I think that’s the approach that’s going to work best for our group. So, Tuesday will be about us. Wednesday, we can introduce Minnesota. That gives our coaching staff basically three to four days. We can map out what we want to do in terms of Minnesota prep, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and potentially Saturday.”
Having a full week to prepare for the opening round of the playoffs is a luxury. LeBron James, Doncic and the rest of the roster can all get some much-needed rest ahead of what projects to be a gruelling playoff series.
Lakers Won’t Have it Easy Against Timberwolves
The Lakers will be opening their postseason run against last seasons Western Conference Finalists. Chris Finch’s team is well-drilled, experienced and highly talented. Despite a slow start to the season, the Timberwolves have adjusted to life without Karl-Anthony Towns.
Of course, the Lakers do boast Doncic, who helped eliminate the Timberwolves last season. Los Angeles’ latest superstar will likely be the x-factor throughout the series, especially if he can hold his own on the defensive end.
Still, Anthony Edwards and Co. cannot be overlooked. Julius Randle has found his role after a tough acclimation period. Donte DiVincenzo is an elite two-way guard, and Naz Reid is one of the most versatile bigs in the NBA. The Lakers must be at their best to progress out of the second round.
Lakers Need to Protect LeBron James
According to a scout who spoke with ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst, the presence of Doncic on the Lakers roster could hurt LeBron on the defensive side of the floor.
“Luka has to guard somebody, and you can wear him down,” the scout told ESPN. “When LeBron is on the weak side, he switches so he doesn’t have to move as much. I’ve seen him do it several times in one possession. In the playoffs you will see teams target LeBron and Luka, put them in the pick-and-roll.”
The scout continued.
“The thing with LeBron is he’s not going to foul; you can score on him with the right matchup. With the right personnel he could be exposed on defense in the playoffs. He’s amazing, taking nothing from him, but it’s a worry.”
Redick must find a way to get the best out of Doncic without overloading an aging LeBron. Fortunately, the Lakers have two elite defenders in Jarred Vanderbilt and Dorian Finney-Smith, who should be able to ease some of that pressure.
Still, with so much talent up and down the roster, the Lakers should be confident. They’re good enough to make a postseason push. And that adventure begins in less than a week.
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