It is important not to overreact to the results of one game. That still remains true even if it was as disappointing of an outing as Game 1 of the series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Lakers got hammered, losing a decisive 117-95 result in Game 1. Los Angeles got diced up all over. They surrendered a 51.2 field goal percentage to the Timberwolves. The 3-point barrage from the Wolves was particularly concerning. Minnesota hit a playoff-record 21 3-pointers for their franchise, most of which were lightly contested at best.
The Minnesota Timberwolves shot 21-of-42 on three-pointers in their Game 1 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 20, 2025
Of those 42 three-point attempts:
🏀27 were classified as wide open
🏀15 were classified as open
🏀0 were classified as coming against tight or very tight defense
History suggests that the sky is not falling in Los Angeles, yet. However, going down 0-2 in the series would certainly call for more desperation and creativity.
Lakers can double down on areas of strength
The issues surrounding size and center depth have been loudly established for this team. Jaxson Hayes, who has been largely serviceable for the Lakers, did not have a strong Game 1 performance.
JJ Redick chose to lean away from featuring the Lakers center as the game went on. Hayes only played eight minutes, finishing with zero points (while shooting 0-of-2 from the field), three rebounds, and a -11 in the plus/minus category.
Jaden McDaniels admitted that the Timberwolves certainly took note of the lack of rim protection on the court. Minnesota jumped on the opportunity in front of them.
McDaniels, who scored 25 points, told Jonah Maves and the media, "I just noticed at certain times ... when Jaxson Hayes wasn't on the court ... I'm basically the tallest person out there. So, I don't think no one could really rim protect me."
As counterintuitive as it may sound, if Redick plans to keep going away from deploying Hayes, leaning more heavily into going small could provide the needed results, should the Lakers' struggles continue.
Bill Simmons suggested on his podcast that the next move could be turning to LeBron James at the center spot and surrounding him with wings and shooting.
Simmons did note that he thought 'Minnesota would be delighted' if the Lakers took that approach. However, for Los Angeles, it would be a matter of capitalizing on their strengths.
If the struggles continue, this would be a recipe of fighting fire with more fire. The idea here is that if the Timberwolves are going to punish you offensively, the way to overpower that would be with your own guns blazing.
The Lakers have certainly had games where they shot the lights out in the building before. One of those performances came against the best team that the Western Conference has to offer.
This is not something the Lakers need to go head-first into just yet. They still have Game 2 to play before a potential loss would heighten the levels of desperation. However, if one is a believer that the best defense is a great offense, this would be how the Lakers execute that strategy.