MINNEAPOLIS — In certain areas, the Lakers made improvements from Game 1 to Game 2 in their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, helping them tie the best-of-seven series, 1-1, with Tuesday’s home win before heading to Minneapolis for Games 3 and 4.
And the Timberwolves are, seemingly, trying to figure out how to get their best player, All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards, into an offensive rhythm.
Both teams feel like they’ve yet to play their best basketball in a series that has already been defined by its physicality.
“Our physicality was appropriate for a playoff game, and thought some of the stuff that we didn’t do well in Game 1, particularly in transition, with some over-helps and then on the offensive glass, we did all that stuff better in Game 2,” first-year Lakers coach JJ Redick said during a conference call with reporters on Thursday. “We’re gonna have to be sharp with that all series.”
Here are three things to keep an eye on during Game 3 on Friday night:
COUNTERS TO LAKERS’ DEFENSE
Edwards’ statistical averages through two playoff games against the Lakers aren’t too far off from his regular-season averages.
His playoff averages so far: 23.5 points (40.9% shooting – 35.3% from 3-point range), seven rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 turnovers in 38 minutes.
Edwards’ regular-season averages: 27.6 points (44.7% shooting – 39.5% from deep), seven rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.2 turnovers in 36.3 minutes.
What those numbers don’t show: Edwards having a 21.1% effective field goal percentage (a field-goal percentage formula that adjusts for 3-pointers being worth more than made 2-pointers) on pull-up shots (9.5 attempts per game) – the third-worst mark among the 49 players averaging at least three pull-ups per game in the playoffs. Edwards had a 50.9% effective field goal percentage on these looks during the regular season.
Some of Edwards’ struggles as a scorer can be attributed to shot variance. But the Lakers’ defense also deserves credit for keeping Edwards off-balance.
“I don’t know – it seemed like every time I caught the ball, [the Lakers] kind of went into a zone in a sense,” Edwards responded when asked about the Timberwolves’ lack of ball and player movement in Game 2. “It was kind of confusing at times, but we’ll watch film and be ready.”
The Lakers’ game plan against Edwards isn’t new.
Similar to their Feb. 27 regular-season matchup, the Lakers have been showing early help on Edwards’ isolations from the wings by bringing a help defender over to the strong-side block to deter his drives – a tactic the Lakers also deployed against other star ball-handlers. They’ve also been showing early help on the wings, especially from the weakside, if Edwards tries to iso from the middle of the floor.
The general purpose of this help is to ensure Edwards’ driving lanes are clogged with a defender to prevent him from getting to the rim if he drives by his primary defender.
The Timberwolves haven’t consistently countered the Lakers’ defense, more often than not resulting in Edwards taking tough, contested pull-up shots or holding onto the ball for too long before making an errant pass.
— Khobi Price (@khobiprice.bsky.social) 2025-04-25T05:37:30.243Z
“What we intended to do was better in Game 2,” Redick said on Thursday about their defensive effort. “There was a small tweak we made going into Game 1. Guys didn’t feel comfortable with it – although from a point perspective, point shot creation, it worked, they didn’t feel comfortable with it, so we made a small tweak.
“And there was one other thing we didn’t do well in Game 1, and we made just a clean-up on that, it was executed pretty well [in] Game 2. There’s always going to be an adjustment to everything, even if it works. Because you’ve got all these things you have to anticipate and counter.”
ATTACKING SMALLS
The Lakers have shown they’re comfortable having their main ball handlers – specifically Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves – attack Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, in space after switches or cross-matches.
But too often it feels like they’re letting Minnesota off the hook by not attacking the Timberwolves’ smaller defenders, specifically Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Donte DiVincenzo.
Even though the Lakers didn’t have the best offensive success in the fourth quarter in Game 2 – they scored just 13 points in the final quarter and went more than six minutes without making a shot from the field – they created great looks when they ran inverted pick-and-rolls or had LeBron James back down/post up Minnesota’s smaller players.
— Khobi Price (@khobiprice.bsky.social) 2025-04-25T05:36:51.500Z
DONCIC ASSIGNMENT?
Doncic has averaged 34 points on 50% shooting (38.9% from 3-point range) to go with 10 rebounds and five assists in the series’ first two games, with 2024 second-team All-Defense wing Jaden McDaniels being the primary defender against Doncic.
McDaniels picked up five fouls in Game 2 after having three in Game 1.
In last year’s Western Conference finals between the Timberwolves and Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks, McDaniels spent less time guarding Doncic as the series progressed, with Edwards and Kyle Anderson stepping in more.
Anderson isn’t on the Timberwolves anymore, but how McDaniels continues to fare guarding Doncic, and how much time he spends being the primary defender against the 26-year-old Slovenian star in Game 3, could provide insight into Minnesota’s defensive game plan for the remainder of the series.
GAME 3: LAKERS AT TIMBERWOLVES
What: Western Conference first round
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m. PT
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis
TV/radio: ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet/710 AM
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