Tuesday night's Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves was just what the doctor ordered for the Los Angeles Lakers. After an unconscionable shooting effort from the Wolves in Game 1, the Lakers were able to lock in on defense and really stifle Minnesota's efforts on offense this time around.
We knew this was coming when JJ Redick made a point to talk about his team's lacking defensive effort after the series-opening loss. "It’s not to say our guys weren’t mentally ready, but I’m not sure physically we were," Redick said after Saturday's game.
This problem was clearly addressed in the days leading up to Tuesday's matchup, and the Lakers' coach seemed extremely satisfied with the progress his group made in a short amount of time. Redick stated that his team had their best practice "in months" ahead of Game 2.
That preparation led to LA giving up their least points to an opposing team all season after the Timberwolves finished the game with just 85 in total. It was a brilliant adjustment, and one that effectively gave Minnesota a taste of their own medicine.
But it still wasn't a flawless performance from start to finish for the Lakers. In fact, one coaching decision Redick made on Tuesday is one that he'll have to be wary of going back to: Employing a zone against Anthony Edwards.
Minnesota did find some success late. I specifically like the boomerang idea to attack the movement and recovery. Paired with the second clip of an early touch and a quick swing vs the load up. Puts MIN in a good position to quickly play back to Ant or opposite pic.twitter.com/8oKl5DUlfo
— Michael Jagacki (@Mike_Jagacki) April 23, 2025
Redick employed a zone — but the Timberwolves figured it out
The Lakers were throwing a zone at Edwards from the beginning in this game. When Ant tried to iso against one player, LA's defenders would load up to create a box formation behind the on-ball matchup, as coach Michael Jagacki explains (@Mike_Jagacki on X).
It's the same defensive strategy that Edwards ran into when playing the Dallas Mavericks in last year's Western Conference Finals. However, the difference between 11 months ago and now is that he now has much more experience playing in these situations where the defense is focused on taking away his scoring power.
By the end of Game 2 on Tuesday, Ant had begun to figure some things out. On several plays, Edwards was essentially testing Redick's zone by doing things like taking a quick dribble and then giving the ball up. On one of these occasions at the end of the third quarter, he immediately got the ball back and blew by Luka Doncic for a score.
Maybe it's a stretch to say Edwards has completely figured out LA's defensive scheme, as he expressed his confusion over the Lakers' strategy in his postgame interview. "It seemed like every time I caught the ball they went in a zone. It was kind of confusing at times," he said.
But with that being said, this is still a tactic that JJ Redick is going to have to be wary of over-using. He is already having to rely on gimmicky schemes to stop Edwards due to the Lakers' lack of personnel. Using this method too often could lead to it being rendered completely ineffective.