It was win or go home for the Los Angeles Lakers tonight for Game 5 of the Western Conference first round. Three nights after a crushing loss in Minnesota, the Lakers needed a win at the Crypto.com Arena in Game 5 to keep their season alive.
After taking a nine-point lead in the first quarter (31-22), the Minnesota Timberwolves set the tone early in this game, and the Lakers were working to catch up all night long. At halftime, the Lakers were down by 10 points on their home court, and Luka Doncic was questionable to return after falling to the floor on a hard foul. The Lakers tried to make a run in the second half, but they were ultimately unable to close the gap down the stretch.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert was the leading scorer for his team with 27 points, 24 rebounds, and two blocks on 80.0% shooting. Star guard Anthony Edwards dropped 15 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and three steals on 26.3% shooting, while Julius Randle finished with 23 points, five rebounds, and four assists on 50.0% shooting.
Meanwhile, for the Lakers, Luka Doncic was first in scoring with 28 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists in 40 minutes. His co-star, LeBron James, finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, and six assists on 42.9% shooting. At small forward, Rui Hachimura dropped 23 points, four rebounds, and one block on 56.2% shooting.
With their season on the line, you cannot accuse the Lakers of giving up or conceding defeat. They fought hard in this game, with their backs against the wall, but in the end, it just wasn’t enough to beat the Timberwolves and keep their season alive.
Major Struggles For Austin Reaves
The Lakers only go as far as their stars take them, but only two out of three were any good tonight. In the must-win game, Luka Doncic and LeBron James combined for 50 points, but Austin Reaves was a no-show with just 12 points, five rebounds, and six turnovers on 35.7% shooting, and it brought the whole team down.
For the game, Los Angeles shot just 45.2% from the field and 28.6% from three. Reaves, who played the second-most minutes of any starter, was -3 in the game, and he was a borderline liability on the court at times.
With JJ Redick’s rotation so tight right now (just seven players deep), there’s no room for error among the top rotation players, and if someone like Austin Reaves isn’t performing up to his standards, it’s going to be tough for the Lakers to win.
Four Bench Points
The supporting cast has been a consistent theme for the Lakers in the LeBron James era, and it continues to be a leading factor in their success. Against the Timberwolves in this series, the Lakers’ role-players have been thoroughly outplayed, and the trend held in Game 5.
Compared to 22 bench points from the Timberwolves, the Lakers combined to drop just four points off the bench, going 0-3 between Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, and Maxi Kleber. The entire scoring load fell on the starters and particularly Luka Doncic, whose 28-point effort went down in vain.
JJ Redick has leaned primarily on the starters through the entire series, giving only limited minutes to the reserves… and now we know why. He didn’t trust them to keep up with the Timberwolves, and it turns out that he was right because they had no answers to what they were doing on the court.
No Center Left The Lakers Vulnerable
The Lakers gave up Anthony Davis in the Luka trade back in February, but it completely decimated their front line. After getting just Maxi Kleber from the Mavericks, the Lakers had to start Jaxson Hayes to fill their hole at center.
In the playoffs, however, Hayes has been a problem for the Lakers, and he was a DNP in tonight’s seven-point loss. Starting in his place was veteran swingman Dorian-Finney Smith, who is undersized for the position at 6’7″ and 220 pounds.
Without a proper big man in the rotation, the Lakers got absolutely bullied on the glass, giving up 54 rebounds to the Timberwolves, including 18 offensive boards. Meanwhile, they let Rudy Gobert go off for the best playoff game of his career with 27 points and 24 rebounds.
Now that they are officially out of the playoffs, an offseason of major reflection and change can begin for the Purple and Gold. Besides the return of Luka Doncic and head coach JJ Redick, the future is shrouded in uncertainty for the Lakers, but at least now they’ll have a chance to build a proper team around Luka Doncic, complete with a frontcourt worthy of his playmaking abilities.
