After two consecutive years of entering playoff action through the play-in tournament, the Lakers finally entered the postseason directly and earned a week off leading into Game 1. However, it seems they weren’t prepared enough to confront the Timberwolves this weekend, who conquered the first match of the series.
Even though this break might have helped some players heal minor injuries and even strengthen their strategy, they were overcome by Minnesota‘s physicality and beaten 117-95 on Saturday night. “It’s not to say our guys weren’t ready to withstand a playoff-level basketball game.”
“… I’m not sure physically we were ready,” said the Los Angeles coach JJ Redick after the disappointing loss at the Crypto.com Arena. “And really when [the Wolves] started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, we just didn’t respond to meet that.”
His players then echoed the same sentiment during the postgame interviews. “I think that they just physically beat us from the get-go,” expressed guard Austin Reaves. Teammate LeBron James, who has played the most playoff contests in NBA history, knows that his team will be ready for Tuesday’s Game 2.
“Maybe it took us one playoff game to now get a feel for it and know what type of intensity, the type of physicality is going to be brought to the game,” the veteran shared after hitting 19 points. “But that’s just the way they play. So we should be more than prepared for that on Tuesday night [in Game 2].”
Despite Luka Doncic leading the team early on scoring 16 of his game-high 37 points in the first quarter, rival Anthony Edwards ended up taking the prize even though he only scored 22 points with some pains in his left calf. “Just tried to be as physical as possible,” he said after the victory.
Jarred Vanderbilt, who helped the purple and gold cut the deficit from 27 to 16 in the third quarter, knows what is coming. “I think we got to be the aggressor,” he said of Game 2. “I feel like they hit us first. And they were the more physical team for the majority of the game. … It’s the playoffs, man.”
