It’s funny how the calendar works.
Six months of NBA basketball have brought us here — back to the beginning, and somehow to the brink. Saturday night, the Los Angeles Lakers host the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of a first-round playoff series that feels anything but ordinary. It’s the kind of matchup that doesn’t just whisper intrigue — it demands attention.
These two teams met on NBA Opening night back in October, but a lot has changed since then.
First and foremost, Luka Dončić now dons the purple and gold, so does Dorian Finney-Smith, two players who were not in the lineup in that 110-103 victory on Opening night.
However, the Timberwolves still have Anthony Edwards, arguably the best player in the NBA, and a charged up and fearless postseason performer. They also have four-time Defensive Player of the Year Award winner Rudy Gobert.
Needless to say, this is not your ordinary 3 vs. 6 matchup. This is two of the top teams in the Western Conference–especially over the last two months–going head-to-head in a matchup that probably should be suited for the Western Conference finals.
For the first time this season, both teams will be healthy and have their full arsenal over players at their disposal. Expect high drama on the hardwood as these heavyweights go to toe-to-toe in the best-of-seven series.
So without further ado, let’s jump headfirst into this juicy first round matchup.
A Season Series Without a Story
Forget the regular-season matchups. Seriously.
The Lakers and Timberwolves split their four games in the regular season 2-2, but of the four meetings, only one came post-Dončić trade, and even that one turned into a glorified scrimmage. Gobert and Julius Randle sat. Edwards got himself ejected, and Lakers’ forward Rui Hachimura limped off early. It was a game played in fragments — not representative of the war we are about to witness.
This series won’t be about what was. It’s about what is — and both teams have plenty to say.
Los Angeles: Small Ball, Big Stakes
JJ Redick didn’t need long to stamp his fingerprint on this Lakers team. With Davis shipped out and the failed Mark Williams deal in the rearview, LA doubled down on its identity: speed, spacing, and switchability.
Dončić is the gravitational force. He doesn’t just run the offense — he orbits it. Everything spins around his creativity. Alongside him, Hachimura has blossomed into a 3-and-D marvel. Dorian Finney-Smith plays with the quiet confidence of a man who knows his role and executes it to perfection. Austin Reaves may be the heartbeat of this team and the x-factor that they will need to win the series, oh, and don’t forget about LeBron James, yes, even at 40 years old, the King is still that dude.
But the million-dollar question during this first round matchup between Minnesota and Los Angeles is this: Can the Lakers small lineup survive in a seven-game series against arguably one of the most physically imposing front lines in the NBA?
Gobert, Randle, and Naz Reid make up that front line.That trio is bruises on top of bruises, and they don’t flinch. If the Lakers want to win, they’ll need to space the floor, force rotations, and turn those Wolves bigs into defensive liabilities.
The math is simple. Get Gobert moving. Get Randle thinking. Get Reid chasing. And then attack the gaps — over and over — until something breaks.
This is what the Lakers small lineup will need to do against the Timberwolves to be successful and if they can box out, rebound the ball, and get out in transition they have an opportunity to shorten this series.
“You just got to play hard as s—,” said Austin Reaves to the media before the series began when asked about the smaller lineups that will inevitably go up against the Wolves bigs.“Every possession, you win by the smallest margin or you lose the smallest margin in the playoffs as we could tell from last year. Obviously, ain’t the same team, but if you go back and watch last year’s games, one thing here and there could have changed the whole series. We can’t take possessions off.”
Minnesota: Defense, Depth, and Ant-Man
Anthony Edwards doesn’t fear the moment. He is the moment.
Edwards has elevated himself from athletic curiosity to bona fide superstar. His shot selection has grown smarter, his vision clearer. He’s the kind of player who can single-handedly flip momentum with a highlight dunk or backbreaking triple.
But he won’t be alone.
Minnesota’s calling card is balance. Top-10 in both offensive and defensive rating since the All-Star break, they’re one of only four teams to accomplish that feat. Gobert anchors the middle. Conley organizes the chaos. McDaniels, flawed shooter though he may be, gives you 94 feet of hell on the defensive end.
And then there’s Reid — the ultimate X-factor. He’s torched the Lakers in past meetings. If he gets going off the bench, things get dicey for the purple and gold.
Still, everything revolves around whether the Wolves can contain Dončić — and history says they can’t. In last year’s playoffs, Luka lit them up like the Las Vegas Strip. He averaged 32-9-8 with surgical efficiency, and Minnesota never truly found an answer.
McDaniels struggled to hold his ground. Edwards picked up fouls trying to body up. Gobert got spun in mismatches. If that repeats, Minnesota’s defense could unravel quickly.
X-Factors: Hachimura and McDaniels — the Wild Cards in a Loaded Deck
Rui Hachimura has quietly become the Lakers’ linchpin. He’ll guard Edwards. He’ll body Randle. He’ll stretch the floor. He might even play small-ball five. If he hits his 3s and stays out of foul trouble, LA’s lineups become lethal.
On the flip side, Jaden McDaniels is Minnesota’s swing piece. If he can somehow contain Dončić, knock down just enough threes, and make hustle plays that swing quarters, this series changes complexion. But if the Lakers turn him into a shooter — not a stopper — the Wolves might be chasing shadows.
This series is going to be a slugfest, a tug-of-war between two different philosophies, and the winner will likely be the team that breaks first.
The Lakers want you to match their tempo. Force you to go small, play spread-out chess, and live or die by rotations. The Wolves want you buried in the paint, clawing through screens and bumping into 7-foot trees until your legs give out.
Neither side wants to blink. But someone’s going to have to over the course of seven games.
If Minnesota is forced to sit Gobert late in games or lean too heavily on small-ball lineups they don’t trust, LA will feast. If the Lakers get pounded on the glass or lose the 50-50 balls Austin Reaves called “life or death” in the postseason, then the Wolves dictate terms.
It feels wrong that one of these teams won’t make it out of the first round. Minnesota is better than a 6-seed. The Lakers are better than their December record.
But when the margins are thin, talent tips the scales. Los Angeles has two of the top three players in the series. Maybe three of the top five. And when the clock is ticking in a tight Game 6 or 7, you bet on Luka. You bet on LeBron.
The Wolves will punch. They’ll frustrate. Edwards will dazzle. Reid will make you swear under your breath. But in the end, the Lakers’ combination of elite shot creation, playoff IQ, and defensive adaptability should be enough to push them through to the second round.
The stars will shine. The lights will burn bright. And for one team, the road to something special starts now.
