The Los Angeles Lakers will head into the offseason despite high hopes of a potential title run this season. The franchise fell to a 96-103 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5, getting eliminated in five games despite being the higher seed in the series.
Luka Doncic ended the night with 28 points (7-18 FG), seven rebounds, and nine assists in a game where he clearly didn’t look very impactful despite the stats. LeBron James contributed 22 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, unable to help the Lakers pull this win out in the clutch. Rui Hachimura had a great game, scoring 23 points (9-16 FG) in the loss, while Austin Reaves managed just 12 points (5-14 FG).
Fans are reacting to the end of the Lakers’ season and are upset at how it ended.
“Luka’s final shot of the season being a blown layup. I know Nico is so fucking happy right now lol,” said one fan about Nico Harrison’s reaction to this loss.
“Luka is my favorite player, but idk how you don’t do some deep soul searching after this offseason. He’s going to need to lock competely in and hopefully this is the offseason that ultimately changes his career for the better,” said one fan who hopes this season will finally force Luka to change his less-than-ideal habits.
“It’s MIND-BLOWING how stagnant the Lakers’ offense gets in crunch time. You have two elite playmakers in Luka Doncic and LeBron James, yet revert to iso-ball,” said one fan about the lack of offensive creativity on the Lakers.
“Nico Harrison making the worst trade in NBA history but being right about Luka’s defense,” said another fan about Nico Harrison.
“Imagine you just watched LeBron’s last game and didn’t even know it,” said one fan who was speculating about a LeBron retirement.
“Indictment team of all season in the non-Luka mins while LeBron and Reaves share the floor. Prime time to go up by multiple possessions and instead are down,” said another fan about the Lakers’ offense being overly dependent on Luka all series long.
Rudy Gobert stole the show, dominating the Lakers with 27 points (12-15 FG) and 24 rebounds. This was much-needed as Anthony Edwards had a stone-cold shooting night for 15 points (5-19 FG), 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Julius Randle continued his excellent play over the series with 23 points (8-16 FG) and five rebounds. In an overall rough offensive night, the Wolves held on to beat the Lakers.
The Wolves will advance to the next round and face the winner of the Golden State Warriors vs. the Houston Rockets. The Lakers, meanwhile, will be heading into a crucial offseason, which will see them likely revamp the entire team around Doncic after acquiring him in the middle of the season on an imperfect roster.
