3 ways LeBron James and Lakers have to step up to win 1st round series against Wolves

LeBron James, Luka Doncic and their Los Angeles Lakers teammates have to elevate their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

3 ways LeBron James and Lakers have to step up to win 1st round series against Wolves

LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Los Angeles Lakers have to elevate their game

The Los Angeles Lakers handled their business by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of their 1st round playoff series. The win was important for LeBron James, Luka Doncic and their teammates as they did not want to travel to Minneapolis with a deficit.

Their performance earlier was much better than how they performed in Game 1. That first game was bad enough for franchise legend Magic Johnson to slam the team. He believed the players did not show any effort and took the game casually.

Today, that casual approach did creep in the second half when they were leading comfortably. Head coach JJ Redick had to yell and curse at them to snap out of it and take the game seriously. From then on, they maintained the lead and held on to win 94-85.

However, one look at the game tape and anyone would notice that not everything was better. The Lakers managed to win because their defense was better and the Minnesota Timberwolves shot poorly. If their opponents regain their Game 1 form, things could get ugly. They have to fix three aspects to ensure they move to the next round.

Effort, effort and effort

The Los Angeles Lakers are not constructed in a way that both LeBron James and Luka Doncic would have liked. They do not have a dominating big man and their bench is not deep enough. However, they managed to overcome those deficiencies with effort.

That effort helped them reach second place in the West. But again, a lack of effort and an injury to James saw them lose games. In the closing stretch of the regular season, there were times when fans and media questioned their overall effort.

Heading into games 3 and 4, the entire squad has to get their effort back on track. If it has helped them beat good teams in the regular season, it will help them again. The squad has to dig deep and hustle on almost every single play.

Else, the bigger and faster Timberwolves could take a series lead and make life difficult. JJ Redick has to instill this into his squad that without effort on both offense as well as defense, the Los Angeles Lakers do not stand a chance.

LeBron James and Luka Doncic have to attack the Wolves big men

In game 2, Luka Doncic continued to score in the same manner he did in Game 1. That is to exploit the matchup he has against Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert. He already has a history with the Frenchman and is trying to exploit his lack of agility.

LeBron James and the others also tried to get Naz Reid into foul trouble. It paid dividends as the Lakers then could isolate Gobert and go at him on every single possession. Later on, Reid’s fourth foul was changed to Jaden McDaniels. This allowed him to come back into the game, further stifling the Lakers’ offense.

At Target Center, with the home crowd cheering them on, Reid and Gobert might get that extra motivation to play well. James and Doncic will have to draw fouls off them to gain a tactical advantage. The Wolves do not play well without at least one big man on the floor.

Practice alternative scoring schemes to counter the Wolves

If head coach Chris Finch figures out a way to avoid Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid from getting exposed, the Los Angeles Lakers’ first scoring option will not work. Then they will have to work out ways to attack their opponents differently.

LeBron James could revert to his free safety role and that could generate a lot of easy points. Austin Reaves could take over the playmaking or scoring to give Doncic and others easy shots. Either way, head coach JJ Redick has to ensure plans B, C and others are ready to be deployed.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have the form as well as the hunger to defeat their illustrious opponents. All the Los Angeles Lakers need to do is to hang in with them on this road trip. If they can at least sneak out one win out of those two games, they should be fine.

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