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Lakers vs Timberwolves: Instant Reaction

By Eric Yee

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The Los Angeles Lakers Season Opener was filled with highs and lows, but eventually Los Angeles fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-111. The Lakers had plenty of chances to finish off the Wolves, but failed to execute.

Jumping out to a fifteen point lead in the third quarter, the Lakers got complacent and let the game slip away. Here’s some interesting takeaways from the game.

Byron Scott Might Not Be the Man for the Job

Throughout the game, Byron Scott left Lakers fans scratching their heads with his spotty decision making. Scott must not have gotten the memo that this was a regular season game, as he continued his preseason-esque hockey line changes.

Additionally, though he claims to be a defensive coach, the Lakers defense seems to have gotten worse with him at the helm. This is discouraging considering that he now has the defensive minded big man he’s been missing. Today, the Lakers let Ricky Rubio drop 28 points and 14 assists on them, while recording only one turnover.

This should come as no surprise as the Lakers let point guards in the preseason run all over them but it’s disappointing nonetheless.

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On offense, the Lakers are supposedly running the Princeton Offense, but there was little of that going on. Instead, the offense was pick and roll/isolation heavy.

At one point Kobe Bryant seemingly had five straight isolations against Andrew Wiggins, which resulted in five missed shots. This prolonged blunder left the door wide open for the young Timberwolves and they capitalized on the opportunity.

As if to channel his inner Phil Jackson, Scott failed to call timeouts on multiple occasions where the team would have greatly benefited from them. When the Lakers double-digit lead was trimmed to five, no timeout. When the second unit struggled to run the offense, no timeout. When the Lakers got a stop and had a chance to win the game, timeout, but Bryant was the one who called it.

Then it dawned on everyone, Byron Scott is no longer running this team, Bryant is. This is ironic because for the Lakers to succeed, Bryant must take a back seat to the younger players.

D’Angelo Russell Continues to Struggle 

D’Angelo Russell‘s struggles continued in his first regular season game. While part of this can be attributed to his mild mannered demeanor, and not demanding the ball or the playing time he deserves, Scott’s decision to start him was also part of the problem.

In the third quarter, Russell showed glimpses running the pick and roll as the primary ball handler. The thing that should be mentioned is that this was with the second unit. Fans can only hope that the coaching staff realizes what that entails.

Just like running a classroom, if a student is not placed in the best position to succeed, that is on the teacher, not the child. Having said that, Byron Scott needs to put Russell in a position to be successful, and that is as the leader of the second unit.

Positive Takeaways

One of the positive takeaways was that the Lou Williams/Nick Young experiment went swimmingly. The duo finished a combined 11 of 22, hitting six threes along the way. From the jump, the press tried to pin the two players against each other, but as of now, it looks like they can not only co-exist, but thrive.

Another positive was that the Lakers shot 92 percent from the free throw line, a staggering 32 of 35, which is a great sign. The Lakers have had a history of poor free throwing shooting big men so Roy Hibbert is a breath of fresh air, finishing 10 of 10 for the night.

The last takeaway was Julius Randle once again showed why he was the right choice for the Lakers. It was a given that Kevin Garnett was going to try and get under his skin before the game but Randle kept his cool. At one point, Randle even got a bit of revenge, throwing the ball off of Garnett’s backside on an inbounds play.

The fact that Randle didn’t even back down from veteran Garnett, speaks volumes of his character. Though it may take an adjustment period, expect big things from the Lakers sophomore bruiser.

What did you think of tonight’s game? Let us know in the comments below.

Next: Los Angeles Lakers: Player Rankings Entering the Season

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