They’re supposed to be champions this year. After an all-time blockbuster trade in which they acquired superstar Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers were seen as unstoppable. Now, just two and a half months later, they find themselves at the brink of first-round elimination, having fallen 3-1 in the series against the Minnesota Timberwolves after Sunday’s 116-113 loss. After a regular season full of hope, what has gone wrong for Los Angeles?
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The Problem(s)
A lot of the Lakers’ struggles in this series lie in where they’ve struggled all year on defense. Their defensive rating in the playoffs is 118.9, ranked 14th of 16 teams. During the regular season, they were 17th in the league. The Lakers also had the worst regular season +/- of any direct playoff qualifier at just 1.2. The signs that this team did not have a playoff-caliber defense have been there all year, and those issues were never properly addressed.
On Sunday, the Lakers led for practically the entire game by as many as 12 points until a fourth-quarter defensive crumble allowed Minnesota to come back and win. Anthony Edwards led the show, scoring 43 points for the Timberwolves. Feeble defensive efforts, such as Sunday’s, prevent the Lakers from truly being one of the league’s best teams.
It’s not like they have that good of an offense, either. Before acquiring Doncic, the Lakers were 17th in the league in points; afterwards, they were 15th. Doncic didn’t significantly impact the team, merely adding another player alongside LeBron to rely on for offensive output. In the playoffs, they are tied for the worst field goals made at 35.0, alongside the Celtics; the difference is that the Celtics lead their series 3-1 due to their elite defensive unit.
The Lakers’ playoff struggles serve as a reminder that star power cannot always carry a team. They finished with a record of 50-32, but without sufficient depth, they were not well-prepared for the playoffs. They looked to LeBron and Doncic as saving graces that would carry them to a championship without much of a team otherwise.
What Now?
The good news for the Lakers is that historically, NBA teams have overcome 3-1 deficits 13 times. It’s not common, but it happens, most recently in the 2020 Western Conference semifinals, where the Nuggets overcame the Clippers.
If the Lakers win their next two games and push the series to a Game 7, that game would be held at home in Los Angeles. Game 5 is also at home, so if the Lakers can secure a victory on Wednesday, they would force the series back to Minnesota, where they would need to win to return to Los Angeles for Game 7.
It’s an uphill battle for Los Angeles, but they’ll have to look to their stars one last time in hopes of advancing to the second round. Maybe next year they’ll have more players to look to.
