Lakers Down to Their Last Chance to Save Title Chances After Game Three Loss
After a strong showing from LeBron James in the first half of Game Three, scoring 22 points, the Lakers lost to the Timberwolves 116-104 in Minnesota. The first big takeaway after the game was the weapons the Timberwolves have against the Lakers. In Game One, Naz Reid scored over 20 points, leading to a Wolves victory. In Game Three, it was Jaden McDaniels who had a big game.
McDaniels scored 30 points in a breakout game and Julius Randle did pretty good as well scoring 22 points in the game. The Lakers need someone from their starters or bench to step up just as Reid and McDaniels have in the two Timberwolves victories. Austin Reaves scored 20 points but other than the Lakers big three nobody else scored in double digits. The Lakers gave Reaves a solid contract in what many considered a steal.
While Reaves is known for his ball handling and scoring. It might be time he starts playmaking more along with his scoring to bring the game to James easier. James at 40 years old, was carrying the team while playing over 40 minutes in the game. Luka Doncic struggled scoring just 17 points.
The Wolves have many different bodies they can throw at him. It is making it harder and harder for Doncic, who doesn’t play at a fast pace, to keep up offensively and defensively. Head Coach JJ Redick needs to get more players involved. Though rookie Dalton Knecht can bring much-needed shooting that the Lakers were missing down the stretch of the game. While playing for the Tennessee Volunteers in college Kinect scored a career high 40 points. He is a scorer and pretty good defensively from what I have seen as well. This will give Rui Hachimura a break, who’s been struggling to shoot the ball and provide more depth in the lineup.
Whatever the game plan was heading into the series needs to be thrown out. There is no excuse for scorers like Knecht and veterans like Alex Len to play less than a minute. Len can match up in size with some Wolves players and help rebound the ball. The Lakers must figure things out quickly because Game Four is their Game Seven. They will not beat this Timberwolves team three straight times to advance. The longer the series goes the more I think it will take a toll on James and others going into their next matchup if they survive.
