Luka Doncic, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are gearing up for their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While the Lakers earned the No. 3 playoff seed in the Western Conference and the Timberwolves are the No. 6 seed, only one game separated them in the standings, and they split their season series two games apiece.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson, while giving his breakdown of the NBA playoff matchups Thursday night, explained what concerns him about the matchup against Minnesota.
"I’m scared for my Lakers because the game’s most exciting player, superstar Anthony Edwards, is a matchup problem," Johnson wrote on social media.
Johnson went on to further analyze the series.
"If the Timberwolves beat my Lakers it’s because Naz Reid and Donte DiVenczo both have a big series. I’m picking my Lakers in 6, led by superstars LeBron James and Luka Doncic," Johnson wrote. "Austin Reaves will be the third man in the ring for the Lakers and he has to have a big series as well as Rui Hachimara [sic]. Rui has to come up big for the Lakers to win."
Johnson might be concerned, but he's still picking the Lakers to advance to the Western Conference semifinals. That's been the consensus pick in most media circles, as all 11 ESPN writers polled picked the Lakers to win the series in six games earlier this week. Edwards noticed that, and he's loving Minnesota's underdog status.
"I just love it. It’s dope," Edwards said Wednesday. "I love the fact that everybody wants the Lakers to win. That’s how it’s supposed to be. They don’t want the Timberwolves to win. I get it."
The Wolves and Lakers are set to tip off Game 1 of their first-round series at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Magic Johnson Admits What Scares Him About Lakers' Matchup vs. Timberwolves.
