Alexander: For want of a center, Lakers’ series with Timberwolves was lost ...Middle East

LOS ANGELES — I guess Anthony Davis had it right after all.

It was Davis, during his waning days as a Laker and in his frustration over being a power forward asked to play center, who more than once pleaded for Rob Pelinka to make a trade for a big man to play the “five.”

As we’ve said, be careful what you wish for. Pelinka made a trade after those comments, but it was to send Davis to Dallas for Luka Doncic, a deal that will be talked about for years.

But that acquisition didn’t win the Lakers a championship, nor did it even get them out of the first round. And when Pelinka’s attempt to acquire 7-foot center Mark Williams from Charlotte ran aground because of something the Lakers saw in Williams’ physical, they first trusted the position to Jaxson Hayes but by the most important games of the season had settled on a center-less lineup.

The consequences, as felt Wednesday night, were severe. Rudy Gobert, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 7-1 center, all but personally escorted the Lakers out of the postseason, his 27 points and 24 rebounds – including a whopping nine on the offensive glass – keying a 103-96 Wolves victory that wrapped up the first-round series in five games.

Anyone remember “no rebounds, no rings”? That was a Pat Riley comment, in the “Showtime” era of Lakers hegemony. It’s as true today as it was then. Minnesota outrebounded the Lakers 54-37 on Wednesday, and the Timberwolves grabbed 18 offensive rebounds for the second game in a row.

Rebounding wasn’t the only reason why the Timberwolves, the No. 6 seed that won only one fewer regular-season game than the No. 3 seed Lakers, will advance. But it’s as good a place as any to start when discussing the team’s obvious offseason priorities.

First, it’s worth noting that there still seem to be bruised feelings with Williams, who went back to Charlotte after the deadline deal was nullified and averaged 15.2 points and 10.2 rebounds. Following Wednesday’s game, he posted a smiley face emoji on X, a statement in itself.

JJ Redick obviously wasn’t satisfied with the center play he was getting with Hayes, especially in a matchup with a Timberwolves team that had length and athleticism with 6-9 Julius Randle (who Laker fans might remember from the draft lottery era), 6-9 Naz Reid and 6-9 Jaden McDaniels in their regular rotation to complement 6-4 Anthony Edwards.

Hayes played just 4:21 in Sunday’s Game 4, sitting as Redick went with five guys exclusively in the second half: Doncic, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and Dorian Finney-Smith. No subs, and the workload might have made a difference in the second half of Minnesota’s 116-113 victory, though the Lakers struggled in the fourth quarter all series.

Proof that Redick remained sensitive to criticism of that move three days later: When asked during his pregame briefing by KTLA/Channel 5’s Rahshaun Haylock if he might lean on his assistant coaches regarding substitution patterns, he responded: “Are you saying that because I’m inexperienced and that was an inexperienced decision that I made? You think I don’t talk to my assistants about substitutions every single timeout?”

Moments later, he dropped the mic and left the room.

The footnote: Redick is a first-year head coach who has two former NBA head coaches on the bench beside him, Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks. But it’s not known if they tried to talk him out of his non-substitution pattern on Sunday. And it’s also worth noting that Hayes stayed on the bench throughout Wednesday’s game while 6-10 Maxi Kleber, one of the other acquisitions in the Doncic trade, played 4:57 in his very first minutes as a Laker.

James, Doncic and Jarred Vanderbilt shared the team lead with seven rebounds. Edwards contributed 11 to Minnesota’s total. And there were plenty to be had; the Timberwolves shot 40.4% overall (36 for 89, including 7 for 47 from 3-point range), while the Lakers shot 42.3% (33 for 78) and made 11 of 37 from behind the arc.

“It’s one thing if he (Gobert) is the only one out there,” Redick said. “It’s another if you’ve got multiple crashers (to the boards). They all have license to crash, and you have to account for them. Plus Gobert is just bigger than anyone.

“Just too many turnovers (15), too many offensive rebounds,” he added, with a reference to his team’s struggle to score. The Lakers reached 100 points just twice in the five games and reached 20 in the fourth quarter once while being outscored in the fourth each game. Wednesday they were outscored 22-16 in the final period.

“I think given the struggles scoring the ball, particularly early in the series, there is a tradeoff,” Redick said. “There is always a tradeoff. You can say ‘Oh, play a center.’ We couldn’t score, so there’s a tradeoff to everything with this.”

But playing without one didn’t help, either.

That’s one part of the analysis of what the 2025-26 Lakers might look like. The odds of James returning for his 23rd NBA season represent another. He has until the end of June to exercise the player option on the second year of his contract; he is due to make $52.6 million, but conceivably could opt out and re-sign for less to enable the Lakers to add pieces to their roster.

Not surprisingly, he was noncommittal about his future following Wednesday’s game, saying, “I don’t have an answer to that,” and indicating he would “sit down with my family, my wife and support group, and talk through it … I’ll have a conversation with myself: How long can I play? I have no answer to that right now.”

Considering that he also noted that every season he doesn’t reach the NBA Finals is a disappointment, this seeming uncertainty has happened before and shouldn’t be unexpected. Expect the four-time champ to return unless and until you hear otherwise, and figure that his chemistry with Doncic – a partnership Redick said is “more than solid” – will get even better.

But there’s one obvious lesson LeBron learned this year. Asked if he felt center-less basketball was sustainable, he smiled and said, “No comment.”

After all, we all know what happened after Davis spoke up.

[email protected]

Related Articles

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Alexander: For want of a center, Lakers’ series with Timberwolves was lost )

Also on site :

• RT journalist detained in Romania
• At least 18 suspects arrested as Israel investigates possible arson link to wildfires
• Trump names Mike Waltz as new UN ambassador nominee hours after he is reported leaving NSA post