The Los Angeles Lakers’ regular-season success with LeBron James and Luka Doncic and the prospect of a deep playoff run faded and disappeared before May arrived on the West Coast.
No deep playoff run. No chance of a second-round series against Golden State or Houston and no chance of a conference finals series against Oklahoma City.
The Lakers’ season is over, and it took the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves just five games to upend the third-seeded Lakers.
Minnesota took Game 5 103-96, a road victory in which All-Star Anthony Edwards was 0-for-11 on 3-pointers and the Timberwolves were 7-for-47 on 3s. And they still won.
Since the NBA went from best-of-five to best-of-seven in the first round in 2003, the No. 6 seed has beaten the No. 3 seed 10 times. But don’t let Minnesota’s seed fool you. The Timberwolves, who reached last year’s Western Conference finals, are also capable of a deep playoff run.
Lakers coach JJ Redick, before he got testy with a reporter’s question and ended his pregame news conference before Game 5, said, “Any team that we play is going to be a challenge, and Minnesota has been more than a formidable challenge. They’re a really good basketball team.”
Edwards had a superior supporting cast than James and Doncic, and that includes Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert who demolished the Lakers in Game 5 with 27 points, 24 rebounds and two blocks.
The final game of the series was a microcosm of the series. Minnesota exposed the Lakers’ weaknesses over and over.
The Timberwolves outrebounded the Lakers 54-37, leading to a 20-10 edge in second-chance points. The Lakers also committed 15 turnovers, reducing their offensive opportunities, they were outscored in points in the paint 56-40 and were outscored 22-4 in bench points.
Those were issues for the Lakers throughout the series. Didn’t rebound enough. Didn’t defend enough. Didn’t have roster flexibility or depth.
Los Angeles rescinded the trade it made for Charlotte center Mark Williams at the trade deadline, but the Lakers rescinded the deal after the deadline expired, leaving it with no option to make an improvement at center or power forward.
Doncic played at least 40 minutes in all five games, and James played at least 40 minutes in the final four games, including 46 minutes in Game 4. They struggled offensively in the fourth quarter, including a combined 4-for-18 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter of Games 4 and 5.
That isn’t to shortchange the Timberwolves. Clearly, they were the better team, had the two-way players to make offense difficult for James and Doncic, and Julius Randle scored 27, 22, 25 and 23 points in the final four games of the series.
Whether the Timberwolves face Golden State or Houston in the second round – the Warriors lead the series 3-2 and Game 6 is Friday in San Francisco – they can win the series.
Follow NBA columnist Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt
