The season series seems to show the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves are even heading into their first-round playoff series although the reality is something much different.
The teams head into Game 1 of their series at Los Angeles on Saturday having split four games against each other during the regular season. But three of those games came before Los Angeles acquired Luka Doncic on Feb. 2.
On Feb. 27, the Lakers earned a 111-102 home victory over the Timberwolves as Doncic scored 21 points with 13 rebounds, while LeBron James had 33 points with 17 rebounds.
Minnesota, though, was without Julius Randle at the time, and his addition into the mix lends to the intrigue of a playoff series where the No. 3-seed Lakers have the home-court advantage over the No. 6-seed Wolves.
While the Lakers (50-32) went 19-13 after Doncic made his debut with the team, the Wolves (49-33) went 17-4 to close out the season and head into the series with an edge about them.
“I just love it. It’s dope,” Minnesota star Anthony Edwards said about the Lakers being considered the favorite in the series. “I love the fact that everybody wants the Lakers to win. That’s how it’s supposed to be. They don’t want the Timberwolves to win. I get it.”
Edwards averaged a team-high 27.6 points per game this season with 5.7 rebounds, and the Wolves stumbled to a 22-21 start through Jan 20. But they went 27-12 the rest of the way, finally getting into a groove following the offseason trade to acquire Randle from the New York Knicks for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Randle averaged 18.7 points with 7.1 rebounds and a team-best 4.7 assists on the season. Minnesota’s 17-4 stretch to close out the season came after Randle returned from a groin strain.
The Lakers had to wait until Doncic recovered from a calf strain before he could make his debut with the team. And after initial concerns that the Los Angeles defense would take a hit, the team has been solid in all areas.
Doncic averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists in 28 games with the Lakers in numbers that were similar to his 28.1, 8.3 and 7.8 marks, respectively, in 22 games with the Mavericks earlier this season.
“I like big games,” said Doncic, who guided the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season. “Playoffs (are) a fun time. Everybody plays 100 percent. It’s just fun to be out there.”
With big man Anthony Davis traded to the Mavericks to acquire Doncic, Jaxson Hayes has stepped into the void inside. Far from Davis’ All-Star level, Hayes has held his own defensively while adding 8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds since Doncic made his team debut in numbers that are slightly up from his season averages.
At age 40, James is still the player that makes the Lakers go. In his 22nd NBA season, he averaged 24.4 points with 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists, while playing in 70 of the team’s 82 games.
“We have a great team,” Doncic said this week. “We have guys that are willing to go to war. Everybody’s staying together. The chemistry is high. We do for sure have a chance (to win the title).”
