2025 NBA PLAYOFFS West First Round: #3 LA Lakers vs #6 Minnesota Timberwolves (MIN leads 1-0)

[Bob8]

Lakers fans and others saying Gobert can't guard 5 out.

Well, Lakers biggest weakness is center. I.e. Wolves can pound Lakers inside with our size (Gobert, Randle, Naz, McDaniels), and we can play Randle / Naz when Lakers try 5-Out.

Sure you can, the question is if that lineup can have 125 offensive rtg.

In the end basketball is simple, you have to score more than other team. That's why teams are rather shooting 3s nowadays.

Lakers defense sucks. Wolves offense is peaking.

It's last 15 games, let's see who Wolves have played against, 2x Jazz, 2x Pelicans, 2x Bkn, 2x Indiana, Phily, Suns, Detroit, Orlando, Memphis, Denver, Bucks. Probably the easiest schedule in Nba in that period.

[Mavrelous]

As someone who watches every Wolves game and pretty much all Lakers games since Luka trade (he is fun), gotta say no post in this thread perfectly summarises the prelude of this series better then this:

Spoiler:

Both of these teams can be really good.

- Lakers have Doncic. James. Reaves. And complementary role players who know their roles. Experience. Star power. Homecourt.
- As noted, the Wolves are ranked #8 on offense. #6 on defense. Historically, top 10 ratings mean you're a legit playoff team... only it's rare for one to be seeded 6th. Only OKC, CLE and BOS are the other teams with top 10 rankings in both... #1 and #2 seeds.

Rotations
Of course, star power sells. And often wins in the NBA. And it might be that simple for the Lakers like it was last year for the Mavericks. But let's say other players besides the stars matter...

Both teams are looking at 8-man rotations.

- James
- Doncic
- Reaves
- Hachimura
- Hayes
....
Finney-Smith
Vincent
Vanderbilt

vs.

- Edwards
- Randle
- McDaniels
- Gobert
- Conley
....
Divincenzo
Naz Reid
Alexander-Walker

Minnesota has the deeper team. It can be argued that they have the three best bench guys in the series. They have to win that matchup significantly. Some recent stats indicate the Wolves have been more effective with Edwards on the bench. For those wondering who can score other than Edwards... basically everyone other than Conley.

______________________

A lot of people talking about the Gobert matchup. It's not ideal for him. But I disagree a bit about how... I think we might see it more on offense.

Defensively, despite the very publicized Doncic game winner... Gobert has been decent (or even good) defending the perimeter. Offensively, Edwards gets blitzed more than anyone else in the NBA. What can Gobert do with the ball off the short roll? What can he do with a size advantage in the post? If he can't take advantage of it... his defensive value is compromised. So we'd see more of Naz Reid.

And Reid is a worse defender everywhere on the court compared to Rudy Gobert.

_______________________

Jaden McDaniels started to make the leap later in the year when Randle and Divincenzo were out injured. After only one double-double last year, McDaniels had 10 double-doubles this season... most of them during that stretch when he played more at the 4.

He'll be back to the 3 and guarding the perimeter more vs. the Lakers. With Randle and Divincezo returning... McDaniels has gone silent. After averaging about 15/8/3 for 20 games... he's down to 9/4/1 over the past 10 games with everyone back in the mix.

He can still be impactful defensively, but how he's officiated matters. A LOT. He's been foul prone in his career, so he'll have to play smart and composed. Early foul trouble will be an issue.

_________________________

Minnesota's season was remarkable in that they played a lot of close games... and lost most of them. The late-game clutch offense has been very poor, ranking near the very bottom of the league.

In a close game, I think most people trust the Lakers... and James and Doncic more than anything the Timberwolves can put out there... with good reason.

_________________________

The other interesting thing about the Wolves this season is the tendency to lose to terrible teams. Losing to very bad teams... and teams without most of its starters playing... has been a constant this season. It cost them a higher seed and a better matchup.

No way I'd vote against James and Doncic (and even Reaves) in a close game down the stretch. A lot of it might be as simple as composure. How will Edwards, McDaniels, et al react to a bad call or two in these games?

+1
I'd also add that all of the west 2-7 is jumbled up and not really separable, every team has advantages over the other team, it'll come down to brilliant players doing brilliant things and it can come from either side, same applies to DEN/LAC.

[thinktank]

Wow. The Lakers were not good in the last 15 games of the season. Below average efficiency.

The only defenses they were better than were tanking teams and the Suns.

(Realgm posters will win this series by posting a lot and convincing others their team will win. )

[Liam_Gallagher]

When’s the schedule come out?

[Mamba Mentality]

When’s the schedule come out?

Game 1 is on Saturday 5:30 PST. League hasn't announced the times for the other games yet.

[thinktank]

I would love a Laker fan to tell us what their weaknesses are.

I will return the favor for the Wolves.

We all know our own team best and all I’m seeing there is pump up my side and downplay the other side. Not great discourse, if you ask me.

[Jta444]

I would love a Laker fan to tell us what their weaknesses are.

I will return the favor for the Wolves.

We all know our own team best and all I’m seeing there is pump up my side and downplay the other side. Not great discourse, if you ask me.

Obviously it’s interior defense. There’s not much verticality and length that can bother shots on the inside. You got Hayes, Rui and Lebron that’s it.

Lebron however surely has another gear in the playoffs. It’s why you really can’t judge the Lakers based on their regular season record. It’s obvious Lebron has been relaxing the last few months. Now in the playoffs with Luka taking care of the offense he can ideally be like a super Draymond doing the dirty work too. That could be the Lakers greatest strength. The question mark is can his ego accept that because it might lower his stats a bit and possibly give Luka WCF MVP/Finals MVP over him. It’s like how AD has sacrificed the last few years on defense doing the dirty work for Lebron, now can Lebron and his ego do that for Luka?

[Mamba Mentality]

I would love a Laker fan to tell us what their weaknesses are.

I will return the favor for the Wolves.

We all know our own team best and all I’m seeing there is pump up my side and downplay the other side. Not great discourse, if you ask me.

1. The most glaring weakness is the lack of frontcourt size. Hayes is the only half decent 7-footer on this roster. He has developed some good synergy with Luka in a short amount of time, but he's still not a starting caliber center especially for a team with championship aspirations. Len sucks and JJ experimenting with Vanderbilt at the 5 has been underwhelming. If we lose this series, it's going to be in large part to the Wolves taking advantage of their size and owning the paint.

2. 3-point shooting variance. Lakers finished this season in the middle of the pack in 3 pt%. Luka, Lebron, and Reaves are great at breaking down defenses and generating wide open looks but we have games where we go completely dry from the perimeter. Wolves will undoubtedly muck up this series with their ball pressure. Rui, DFS, and Vincent need to come up big when their number is called.

3. Late game execution is still lacking. Blowing 4th quarter leads with Lebron and Luka is inexcusable. Hopefully there is a renewed focus heading into the postseason.

[thinktank]

I would love a Laker fan to tell us what their weaknesses are.

I will return the favor for the Wolves.

We all know our own team best and all I’m seeing there is pump up my side and downplay the other side. Not great discourse, if you ask me.

Obviously it’s interior defense. There’s not much verticality and length that can bother shots on the inside. You got Hayes, Rui and Lebron that’s it.

Lebron however surely has another gear in the playoffs. It’s why you really can’t judge the Lakers based on their regular season record. It’s obvious Lebron has been relaxing the last few months. Now in the playoffs with Luka taking care of the offense he can ideally be like a super Draymond doing the dirty work too. That could be the Lakers greatest strength. The question mark is can his ego accept that because it might lower his stats a bit and possibly give Luka WCF MVP/Finals MVP over him. It’s like how AD has sacrificed the last few years on defense doing the dirty work for Lebron, now can Lebron and his ego do that for Luka?

I appreciate that, even though you're not a Lakers fan. Wolves will definitely pound them inside. Naz and Randle can score inside like crazy, and so can Ant and McDaniels.

Wolves biggest weakness is NOT Gobert on Luka, as has been stated many times. The head-to-head matchup from last playoffs has been dissected many times and Gobert was not a net negative. Everyone just keeps highlighting that single possession we all remember, which, to be fair, was in the clutch of a huge game. And on that possession, McDaniels was supposed to stay with Luka and he didn't. Somehow that's Gobert's fault, I guess (it's not).

Wolves biggest weakness is clutch time coaching from Finch, and then decision-making by Ant. If we can somehow navigate that, Wolves have a very good chance of winning this series.

[life_saver]

Gobert's +/- in the Mavs series last season by game +10, +1, -8, +4, -23. Other than G5 where Wolves lost badly, his numbers were fine. Bigger problem for Wolves in that series were both offensive stars underperforming, especially KAT who had a very bad series

[Bob8]

I would love a Laker fan to tell us what their weaknesses are.

I will return the favor for the Wolves.

We all know our own team best and all I’m seeing there is pump up my side and downplay the other side. Not great discourse, if you ask me.

1. The most glaring weakness is the lack of frontcourt size. Hayes is the only half decent 7-footer on this roster. He has developed some good synergy with Luka in a short amount of time, but he's still not a starting caliber center especially for a team with championship aspirations. Len sucks and JJ experimenting with Vanderbilt at the 5 has been underwhelming. If we lose this series, it's going to be in large part to the Wolves taking advantage of their size and owning the paint.

2. 3-point shooting variance. Lakers finished this season in the middle of the pack in 3 pt%. Luka, Lebron, and Reaves are great at breaking down defenses and generating wide open looks but we have games where we go completely dry from the perimeter. Wolves will undoubtedly muck up this series with their ball pressure. Rui, DFS, and Vincent need to come up big when their number is called. T-Wolves have the bench advantage going into this series.

3. Late game execution is still lacking. Blowing 4th quarter leads with Lebron and Luka is inexcusable. Hopefully there is a renewed focus heading into the postseason.

3-pts shooting has changed drastically after Luka's arrival.

Before ASB Lakers were shooting 34.5 3s, 25th in the league, with 35.6%. After all star break Lakers are shooting 40.4 3s, 7th most in the league, 38.6%, 5th best % In the league.

[thinktank]

Let me guess, Bob8 said only positive things about Lakers.

[Mamba Mentality]

I would love a Laker fan to tell us what their weaknesses are.

I will return the favor for the Wolves.

We all know our own team best and all I’m seeing there is pump up my side and downplay the other side. Not great discourse, if you ask me.

1. The most glaring weakness is the lack of frontcourt size. Hayes is the only half decent 7-footer on this roster. He has developed some good synergy with Luka in a short amount of time, but he's still not a starting caliber center especially for a team with championship aspirations. Len sucks and JJ experimenting with Vanderbilt at the 5 has been underwhelming. If we lose this series, it's going to be in large part to the Wolves taking advantage of their size and owning the paint.

2. 3-point shooting variance. Lakers finished this season in the middle of the pack in 3 pt%. Luka, Lebron, and Reaves are great at breaking down defenses and generating wide open looks but we have games where we go completely dry from the perimeter. Wolves will undoubtedly muck up this series with their ball pressure. Rui, DFS, and Vincent need to come up big when their number is called. T-Wolves have the bench advantage going into this series.

3. Late game execution is still lacking. Blowing 4th quarter leads with Lebron and Luka is inexcusable. Hopefully there is a renewed focus heading into the postseason.

3-pts shooting has changed drastically after Luka's arrival.

Before ASB Lakers were shooting 34.5 3s, 25th in the league, with 35.6%. After all star break Lakers are shooting 40.4 3s, 7th most in the league, 38.6%, 5th best % In the league.

I imagine a lot of that has to do with Luka spamming 10+ triples a game... My point still stands, Lakers role players will need to come up big, Wolves bench has a sizable edge going into the series.

[Bob8]

1. The most glaring weakness is the lack of frontcourt size. Hayes is the only half decent 7-footer on this roster. He has developed some good synergy with Luka in a short amount of time, but he's still not a starting caliber center especially for a team with championship aspirations. Len sucks and JJ experimenting with Vanderbilt at the 5 has been underwhelming. If we lose this series, it's going to be in large part to the Wolves taking advantage of their size and owning the paint.

2. 3-point shooting variance. Lakers finished this season in the middle of the pack in 3 pt%. Luka, Lebron, and Reaves are great at breaking down defenses and generating wide open looks but we have games where we go completely dry from the perimeter. Wolves will undoubtedly muck up this series with their ball pressure. Rui, DFS, and Vincent need to come up big when their number is called. T-Wolves have the bench advantage going into this series.

3. Late game execution is still lacking. Blowing 4th quarter leads with Lebron and Luka is inexcusable. Hopefully there is a renewed focus heading into the postseason.

3-pts shooting has changed drastically after Luka's arrival.

Before ASB Lakers were shooting 34.5 3s, 25th in the league, with 35.6%. After all star break Lakers are shooting 40.4 3s, 7th most in the league, 38.6%, 5th best % In the league.

I imagine a lot of that has to do with Luka spamming 10+ triples a game... My point still stands, Lakers role players will need to come up big, Wolves bench has a sizable edge going into the series.

% is up too.

[TimberKat]

As someone who watches every Wolves game and pretty much all Lakers games since Luka trade (he is fun), gotta say no post in this thread perfectly summarises the prelude of this series better then this:

Since you watch both, what is your take on who's going to win and what is Wolves' chances?

[soxperry]

Neither of these teams have a shot against okc over 7 games, but this will be a fun matchup. Completely top heavy roster vs one with an apex predator (although still developing) and a balanced rotation.

No idea who wins it but if it comes down to extremely close games late in the 4th, you have to like LA. That said, Ant could take the leap at any moment and just decide he's a Luka tier clutch player now.

We'll see

[thinktank]

Neither of these teams have a shot against okc over 7 games, but this will be a fun matchup. Completely top heavy roster vs one with an apex predator (although still developing) and a balanced rotation.

No idea who wins it but if it comes down to extremely close games late in the 4th, you have to like LA. That said, Ant could take the leap at any moment and just decide he's a Luka tier clutch player now.

We'll see

No doubt he’s hyped for the rematch.

[Bob8]

Let me guess, Bob8 said only positive things about Lakers.

Who cares what theoretical disadvantages Lakers have. We have seen last year what Luka and Mavs did to the best D in the league. I heard before the series began how Mcdaniels will eat alive Luka, how Ant is new MJ... I didn't know, if I should even watch the series, because Wolves are that much better. And then...

Now we're hearing the same story, bigger, stronger, better D, better offense...

I agree Wolves are bigger and stronger they might win Tug of war easily, luckily for Lakers skills in basketball still mean more than brutal strength. Wolves are in big disadvantage in skills and IQ, probably too big to prevail.

Should be good series, brutal force against IQ and skills.

[Bob8]

Neither of these teams have a shot against okc over 7 games, but this will be a fun matchup. Completely top heavy roster vs one with an apex predator (although still developing) and a balanced rotation.

No idea who wins it but if it comes down to extremely close games late in the 4th, you have to like LA. That said, Ant could take the leap at any moment and just decide he's a Luka tier clutch player now.

We'll see

No doubt he’s hyped for the rematch.

He looks more like a fan here,

Read on Twitter

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[TimberKat]

Luka’s gonna hunt Gobert on defense and Gobert will be unplayable in the playoffs…again like he’s been for every playoffs he’s been a part of.

bull. Wolves won the Gobert minutes last year against the Mavs, they lost all the other ones without him.

Wolves lost the Gobert minutes by 16 last year against the Mavs.
They did win his minutes the 1st 2 games in Minny, but not the entire series.

Rudy Gobert being played off the floor is a false narrative that originates from bad optics (Clippers going small in 21, Maxi Kleber going nuts from 3 in 22 and Luka famous shot) that aren't backed by stats, but part of ANT clutch struggles is having to play next to 2 weak offensive players in Gobert and McDaniels who can be helped off of.

Rudy avg 14 rb and 18pt the last 10 games. He has been playing great. On the defensive end, he has cover much more space than he was a couple years ago and goes out to 3pt lines. He didn't play well beginning of the season partly due to Randle's inability to throw a lob pass. I am not sure which version of Gobert we will get but I expect the DPOY one. Rather than debat with Luka groupies, I will let Gobert's play speak for itself.