There has been much excitement for how the Los Angeles Lakers would perform in the playoffs with Luka Doncic and LeBron James leading the team. Alas, Game 1 of their first-round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves could not have gone any further from plan for the Purple and Gold. Courtesy of some poor defensive decision-making and some struggles on the offensive end, the Lakers were on the receiving end of a 117-95 beatdown from the Timberwolves, relinquishing homecourt advantage in the process.
Considering all the hype surrounding the Lakers, especially after being lauded for their grand larceny of Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, anything short of a deep playoff run would be a disappointment. And Charles Barkley, on TNT's Inside the NBA broadcast following Game 2 of the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets' first-round series, warned them of the repercussions if they don't get it done against the Timberwolves, starting with Game 2 of their series on Tuesday night.
“Clearly, I think it's a must-win for the Lakers. If you get Luka Doncic and LeBron James losing in the first round of the playoffs, that's a bad season,” Barkley said. “Everybody gave them the win in the [Doncic] trade. But if they lose in the first round, that's gonna be a really bad look for them.”
"If you get Luka and LeBron losing in the first round... that's a bad season"
Chuck sounds off on teams looking to win their Game 2s 👀 pic.twitter.com/DqGgOQJw3t— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 22, 2025
Doncic, to his credit, played very well in Game 1 and looked like his usual playoff self. It's the rest of the Lakers squad that has to step up. James, in particular, took a bit to get going and finished with just 19 points on 8-18 shooting from the field. It is a bit concerning as well that the Lakers had no other double-digit scorers outside of the Doncic, James, and Austin Reaves trio.
Losing Game 2 may not be the end of the world for the Lakers, but the pressure will be immense if they head to the road down 2-0 in the series.
Lakers need to reconfigure their game on both ends
It was a barrage of three-pointers that did the Lakers in during Game 1; the Timberwolves made exactly 50 percent of their 42 three-point attempts on the night, and some of those open looks came from careless strong-side help defense from the Lakers.
Meanwhile, their offense was very stagnant; the Lakers played a ton of one-on-one basketball in Game 1, with the Timberwolves being content to force their big three into tough shots. But if there's anyone who knows how to navigate a seven-game series, it's Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
