No loss ever feels good in the playoffs. Yet the Lakers’ 116-104 Game 3 defeat to the Wolves on Friday night felt extra excruciating.
Minnesota expectantly came out roaring in front of their raucous home crowd. After jumping out to an early lead and looking poised to break things open early, the Lakers withstood the Wolves’ fast start and gave themselves a chance to steal one on the road.
After jostling back and forth, the two teams were tied in the final four minutes. With plenty of chances to retake control, the Lakers scored just one point the rest of the way and fumbled a golden opportunity to seize control of the series.
While the Wolves deserve credit for capitalizing, the Lakers may be haunted by the fact that their fingerprints played a large role in the eventual outcome.
Let’s look at three takeaways from the contest.
Losing on the margins
Although the final result may not look like it, Game 3 was tightly contested. And that’s why the box score is nightmare fuel from the Lakers’ perspective.
After their stalemate in Game 2, the Wolves again dominated the paint, outscoring the Lakers by a whopping 30 points in Game 3. For the series, Minnesota now has a 42-point edge.
This was mostly expected given their size advantage and has only been further compounded by Jaxson Hayes’ inability to stay on the floor.
The Wolves’ ability to routinely get two feet in the paint has earned them the whistle and opened up their drive-and-kick game. For the Lakers, their reliance on an attack that is more outside-in rather than inside-out has put extra importance on their perimeter shooting.
While they shot well from three overall on Friday night, they faltered late, missing all five of their chances in the final minutes. Whether bad luck or the result of their centerless minutes taxing their energy and legs, their poor clutch performance sealed their fate.
Missed shots are to be expected and ultimately a livable result for a coach. However, things like turnovers and missed free throws will add a few hundred wrinkles as JJ Redick can attest.
The seven missed gimmies at the charity stripe hurt especially more after a loss, as do the 16 turnovers that led directly to 28 Wolves’ points.
Los Angeles may not solve the size dilemma the Wolves present, but avoiding the self-inflicted foibles could make a world of difference. If a few more bounces go their way and they get cleaner execution, the series outlook could be drastically different.
Luka Dončić being bad sick, not good sick
Luka Dončić was not himself in Game 3. Heading into the contest, it was reported that Dončić had been battling a severe stomach bug over the last 24 hours.
Clearly impacted by the illness, Dončić was seen hunched over throughout the night and even failed to make it onto the court to start the third quarter. He would eventually check in but was never able to find his footing.
Dončić still finished the night with 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. However, he shot just 6-16 (37.5%) from the field and turned it over five times.
LeBron James was able to pick up the workload of his ailing teammate, having his best offensive game of the series. James was aggressive from the outset. He was the only Lakers’ player able to generate downhill traction and found his shooting touch in the process, hitting five of his nine attempts from behind the arc.
James’ 38 points ultimately were not enough to lift a punchless offense. The Lakers are currently averaging only 97.7 points against the Wolves thus far, which ranks 12th among the remaining 16 postseason squads.
If the Lakers have hopes of piercing Minnesota’s defense, they will need James to continue his aggressive play and a healthy Dončić to lead the way.
It remains to be seen what Dončić’s status is for Game 4 on Sunday. Even if he does play, there should be concern if a physically compromised Dončić will be productive at the level the Lakers need him to be. If not, a deep playoff run may be in serious jeopardy.
Jaden McDaniels is playing sprawlball
Heading into the series, much was made about how the Lakers would defend Anthony Edwards and the Wolves’ size.
So far, the Lakers have done a solid job on Edwards — his fourth-quarter flurry in Game 3 notwithstanding — and have battled in the interior against bigger opposition. Yet it’s been Jaden McDaniels who continues to be the x-factor for Minnesota and irritant for Los Angeles on both sides of the floor.
Between his versatile, stingy and unraveling defense, McDaniels has been one of the linchpins to the Wolves’ defensive strategy thus far. He’s been thrown on each of the Lakers’ Big 3 and held his own. His length and motor have been disruptive against drives and in passing lanes. And he’s flown around the court for the ball like it was the Golden Snitch.
For as good as he’s been on defense, McDaniels has arguably been even more impressive on offense. He followed up his 25-point performance in Game 1 by tying his career-high with 30 in Game 3.
Beyond the point totals, the wing has been critical to countering the Lakers’ defensive gameplan against Edwards.
With Redick and his staff opting to be aggressive in their coverages against the star guard, this has forced the other Wolves to make a play, with McDaniels being the best to do so thus far.
Whether it’s attacking closeouts with ferocity, getting to his pull-up or scouring for offensive rebounds, McDaniels has been omnipresent. This is why it is likely no coincidence that McDaniels’ quiet Game 2 performance resulted in a Lakers’ win.
McDaniels’ strong play embodies the timely and balanced contributions the Wolves have received in the series.
Although containing Edwards will continue to be a priority for the defense, limiting McDaniels’ sprawling impact is also proving more important with each big play.
