Lakers' worst issues have plagued them throughout series vs. Timberwolves

Everyone knew heading into the 2025 NBA Playoffs that the Los Angeles Lakers were far from the perfect championship contender. However, there were enough glimmers of hope to make most people feel optimistic about their chances in spite of that.

There is still plenty of time in this series against the Minnesota Timberwolves for the Lakers to turn around their fortunes from their current 2-1 deficit. In order to do that, JJ Redick and his group will need to find a way to either solve or work around some of the biggest issues that have plagued the team thus far.

The major signs of trouble for Los Angeles

Turnovers were something this editorial identified as an area for improvement ahead of the playoff run for Los Angeles. Game 3 was an unfortunate example of why those concerns existed.

The Lakers lost the turnover battle 19-11 against the Timberwolves, conceding 28 points off those giveaways in the process. It was one of the biggest aspects to Los Angeles dropping what was a very winnable road game for the team.

LeBron James has kept preaching about the Lakers needing to 'control the controllables.' That was not the case in this category.

"I don't think we did that tonight, obviously," James told the media after Game 3. "19 turnovers on the road is not gonna be a good ingredient for winning."

What is out of the Lakers' control, at this point, is the lack of center depth on the team. It certainly has not helped the winning cause in this series that Jaxson Hayes, the only playable big man on the roster, has not given Redick much reason to provide him with sufficient minutes.

Hayes has only been featured for 8.7 minutes per game so far, with averages of 1.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.0 personal fouls, while only connecting on 33.3 percent of his shots from the field.

"When we've been really, really good, Jaxson's played extremely well for us," James said at the postgame press conference. "We still believe in him and hope we can continue that going into the rest of the series."

Jaden McDaniels has been one of the Timberwolves who has bluntly identified the advantages their team feels they have when the Lakers choose to go small and have no rim protection on the court.

Finding enough contributions outside of the Lakers' three-headed offensive attack has presented yet another disadvantage for Los Angeles. While James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves have been mostly reliable, the role players around them have underdelivered.

LeBron, looking to the other team in this series, knows just how much better a team is when the supporting pieces step up their games. James highlighted Anthony Edwards' excellence after Game 3, but the four-time champion ensured another one of Minnesota's players got his due as well.

"I thought the game ball went to Jaden McDaniels," James said. "He had 30, and he was aggressive from the start to the finish."

Meanwhile, the Lakers have been dependent on their stars leading the way. Los Angeles has averaged 97.7 points per game as a team during the first three games of this series. Doncic has accounted for 28.3 of those, James has delivered 26.0, and Reaves has chipped in 17.3.

The Lakers have only had one other player deliver double digits in scoring during this series. That came when Rui Hachimura dropped 11 points in the Game 2 win.

Redick only had so many options to turn to for a reliable playoff rotation. Throughout the first three games, even the most reliable supporting acts have not been able to alleviate the large offensive load off the Lakers' stars.

No one is pushing the panic button just yet for Los Angeles. However, there are certainly discouraging elements of their performances so far that do raise concerns ahead of Game 4.